Thomson Reuters Foundation: There are 17 Sustainable Development Goals: The solution to meeting any of them lies in how they inter-relate
Ellen Agler, chief executive officer of the END Fund

“…It’s going to take all the systems-thinking we can muster if we are to achieve the [Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)] by 2030 but I truly believe it’s possible, if we can align efforts to scale impact. … [Community health workers (CHW)] are a great example of systems-thinking in action. If we can build this frontline infrastructure, we can use it in many different ways: to combat diseases like malaria and [neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)], to tackle widespread malnutrition, improve maternal health outcomes, and save and improve lives. … At the END Fund, we’ve been working to make sure every time we support a national NTD program, it is squarely rooted in strengthening local health systems and integrated with efforts to scale CHW programs in the poorest and most remote villages. … Meeting any of the SDGs is about seeing the interconnections between these individual goals — understanding them from a systems lens. We need to leverage … international events to work together to find the convergence opportunities and develop holistic solutions” (9/29).