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In 2009, Bayalpata Hospital was an abandoned shell in a remote corner of Nepal. It was brought back to life by Possible, an American NGO. Each day, hundreds of patients flow through its corridors, but the doors to the newly renovated operating room remain padlocked.

 

The hospital needs an MDGP, a doctor who can also perform C-sections. But persuading someone to live in such a remote place is difficult. Possible’s first hire quit within 24 hours of arriving.

 

Now Dr Shree Ram Tiwari is stepping up to the plate. To provide life-saving surgeries here, Possible must find a way to entice him to stay for the long run.

If you switch the map to satellite and zoom way, way in, you can see the cluster of buildings that is Bayalpata Hospital. The map marks an airport nearby, but that has been closed since the civil war of 1996-2006. The nearest airport is Dhanghadhi, ten hours away by jeep.

“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”

UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL #3

“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”

UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL #3

The United Nations has also been grappling with health care, albeit on a different scale. In September 2015, the General Assembly ratified the Sustainable Development Goals, a list of 19 ambitious targets to be met by 2030. They cover everything from education to climate change. SDG #3 focuses on health care, and will influence how governments and aid agencies allocate billions of dollars.

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SDG 3

By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.

By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.

By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.

Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.

By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.

Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate.

Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all.

Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States.

Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

Setting global targets is only the first part of the problem. Now, governments and aid agencies must work out how to meet these goals. The UN thinks the answer lies in Big Data, as outlined in its 2014 publication ‘A World That Counts’. It’s a great pun, and a powerful idea.

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Setting global targets is only the first part of the problem. Now, governments and aid agencies must work out how to meet these goals. The UN thinks the answer lies in Big Data, as outlined in its 2014 publication ‘A World That Counts’. It’s a great pun, and a powerful idea.

MATERNAL MORTALITY
MATERNAL MORTALITY

The first item on the SDG3 to-do list is getting the global maternal mortality rate down to under 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Death in childbirth was once a leading killer of young women around the world. Data can reveal those countries where that’s still the case.

Swipe to compare data or use the arrows or keyboard

Swipe to compare data

WHERE ARE THESE NUMBERS FROM?

These figures are from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). You’ll be hearing a lot more from them later.

Data gets us asking the right questions. Why has China been so successful? Why do things seem to be going wrong in the US?

 

Data also makes it clear that meeting SDG3 means taking the fight to countries where the maternal mortality rate remains high: countries like Nepal.

 

At Bayalpata Hospital, the operating theater opens its doors.

What is the value of a human life? There’s no easy answer to that question, but
without the cash to do everything they’d like to, the team behind Bayalpata Hospital must prioritize.

 

They face José’s dilemma.

 

Which does more to reduce maternal mortality: building a house for a doctor who can perform C-sections, or something else, like creating an army of Community Health Workers to distribute antenatal vitamins in villages?

 

Now there’s a way to find out.

CONTINUE

Up next… Big Data.