Health is essential for sustainable development. Through collaborative action, we have made great progress in alleviating the burden of some of the deadliest diseases across the globe. It is critical to continue to accelerate this progress while responding to emerging health challenges.

Breakthrough interventions, such as safe and effective vaccines, have led to remarkable progress in reducing mortality from communicable diseases over the past 50 years. However, today 20% of all deaths are still due to communicable diseases.

In support of SDG 3.3, the innovative pharmaceutical industry aims to end these epidemics by creating global strategies and coalitions for mobilizing action against ending the AIDS epidemic, coordinating TB investments, and catalyzing action across governments and partners to eradicate malaria.

NTDs affect more than 1 billion of the poorest and most marginalized people globally. One in seven people suffer from an NTD 5, despite often ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat these diseases are known.

Collaborations, such as the Kigali Declaration on NTDs bring together public, private and civil society actors to improve access to treatments, build capacity, and advocate for supporting policies. As part of our contribution, the innovative pharmaceutical industry is working to distribute 14 billion treatments by 2020, forming the world’s largest medicine donation to date.

Partnership is crucial to deliver on progress, strengthen implementation, and develop innovative approaches. Our collaborations are dynamic and evolving, spanning sectors, industries, geographies, and diseases.

Women are the backbone of healthcare delivery and, in many countries, make up over 75% of the healthcare workforce. However, they are often concentrated in low status health occupations and are a minority among trained health professionals.

SDG 9 is critical for economic development, social stability, and our ability to meet future challenges in health. We work collaboratively to support economic growth and strengthen local technological capabilities. We invest in infrastructure and capacity building, run clinical trials that help local economies to grow, and share technical expertise to develop, manufacture, register, and distribute medicines and vaccines to more people.

In addition, we employ almost 3 million people worldwide and continue to strengthen workforces in support of economic stability, through training and job creation.

Approximately 99% of maternal deaths, 95% of deaths from TB, and 87% of premature deaths due to NCDs occur in LMICs.