Bloomberg Weighs in on Philanthropy’s Role in SDGs, Fighting Noncommunicable Diseases

Against the busy backdrop of the 77th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Michael Bloomberg received his third reappointment as the World Health Organization’s global ambassador for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries.

NCDs, the world’s leading cause of illness and death, are a key target within the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people live in peace and prosperity. More specifically, they’re an objective of SDG 3, which aims to stem preventable death and disease — and assure good health and wellbeing for all.

He has his work cut out for him. Bloomberg’s reappointment comes at a time when a global pandemic and armed conflict have strained the world’s ability to meet the 17 goals. Now at the halfway point, a recent report shows that nearly every indicator is lagging on the 2030 commitment. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for a “rescue mission” to get the goals back on track.

Bloomberg shared his thoughts with IP via email on philanthropy’s unique role in meeting the mission and how an investment in NCDs can yield dividends across other areas of public health.

Meeting Sustainable Development Goals

While SDGs offer a framework for aligning strategic philanthropy with global goals, much of what drives achievement resides at the government level. Ergo, some philanthropies struggle to see their place in them.

Instead, Bloomberg views philanthropy’s role as critical. “Philanthropy is important because it can take risks, spur innovation, and show national governments the value of public health interventions they otherwise might be too risk-averse (or too constrained by budgets) to try.”

That philosophy is mirrored in his own philanthropy’s approach. “A great example is the work long underway through the Partnership for Healthy Cities,” he said. “Bloomberg Philanthropies supports 70 global cities committed to tackling noncommunicable diseases and injuries. We also help the best ideas to spread around the world. With the guesswork taken out of it, countries can adopt and scale what cities and partners have already proven can work at the local level — and the result is millions more lives saved or improved.”

The Partnership for Healthy Cities is part of Bloomberg’s overall funding to improve global public health, which currently totals $3.3 billion through multiple vehicles including his foundation, corporate and personal philanthropy. Created by Bloomberg in 2017 upon assuming his global ambassador role, the partnership engages a network of urban centers in preventing the two public health issues that data showed caused an estimated 80% of deaths around the globe each year: NCDs and physical injuries.

Local governments select from a menu of 14 interventions ranging from tobacco control to data surveillance. City staffers then receive a full spectrum of on-the-ground support, including grants of up to $100,000, technical assistance, communications support, and networking opportunities that promote collaboration and the open sharing of lessons and best practices — all ways that philanthropy can help innovate.

NCDs

Another main challenge to meeting goals is, of course, historic donor fatigue and continuing commitments to mitigating COVID-19. But Bloomberg emphasizes that funding NCDs is not a zero-sum game. SDG 3.4 specifically targets reducing early mortality rates driven by four NCDs, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes, by a third by 2030, and to promote mental health and wellbeing.

In his time both as a businessman, politician and a donor, Bloomberg has always valued data above all else, and the numbers are clear here. NCDs are the leading cause of illness and death. Seven in 10 deaths worldwide are attributable to one of the four diseases. Every two seconds, someone under 70 dies of one. And they now outnumber infectious disease as the top killers globally.

Targeting NCDs also enjoys widespread support from the public at a policy level. A recent Gallup study fielded across five countries — Colombia, India, Jordan, Tanzania and the U.S. — showed that majorities of citizens support a wide number of policies to help people live healthier lives, from incorporating more green spaces in urban design to increasing taxes on tobacco.

When it comes to investments, Bloomberg doesn’t see NCD funding as an either-or proposition in relation COVID-relief funding, since the concrete tactics that lower numbers have larger impacts. “NCDs are a major factor in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths,” Bloomberg said. “So there is a clear link between communicable diseases and NCDs. When we target NCDs, we reduce risk factors and help prevent people from getting sick in the first place.”

His own funding takes a variety of tactics. “Bloomberg Philanthropies has already had a lot of success with major, long-term investments to reduce tobacco use and obesity, eliminate trans fats, prevent cardiovascular disease, and strengthen road safety.”

Finish line

There’s a real chance that the long-term SDG targets agreed upon by countries in 2015 will not be met by 2030, but every effort’s being made to get NCDs over the finish line.

To keep 3.4 goals on track, a new structure for global leadership was put in place by the WHO to accelerate progress on NCD prevention and control. Bloomberg’s reappointment was made at the first annual gathering of a Heads of State and Government Group for the Prevention of NCDs, during which members committed to an NCD compact that’s expected to save 50 million lives through 2030.

Michael Bloomberg also hopes more funders will embrace NCDs as a way of saving lives. “We still have a long way to go, but we’re making real progress, and more funders should know what we know: Millions of NCD deaths every year are preventable with the right investments.”

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