SDG 3 Good Health and Well Being
Begin your journey by exploring this page . The buttons below take you to resources that relate to SDG 3 . Student participant's work can also be found here (Or will, work in progress). The materials here are only the beginning of your journey, explore them and then follow your focus of interest.
Our health can be effected in many different ways. Pollution is one cause but only one of many. Your challenge is to identify those things that advance and hinder good health.
SDG 3 Good Health and Well Being:
Go to the UN page on SDG 3 by clicking on the button. Read the information it contains.
Ask yourselves some key questions like the ones below and then go to Flipgrid and record your responses. Your teacher has the Flipgrid code.
Welcome to Flipgrid! Tap the green plus below to open the Flipgrid Camera. Then, record a short video and...
Introduce yourself briefly. Say your name, age, nationality.
Identify why you selected this SDG.
Explain the goal and what it is about
Why is it important to reach a situation of good health and well being for everyone in the world? You must highlight why the problem is relevant and requires intervention. You can present figures to support your view.
Is the goal relevant in your country? You can present figures
What should be done in your country to satisfy this goal?
How can you act to help make it achievable?
What are the facilitators and inhibitors of establishing health and well-being in the world?
Participant's Responses
Young people's mental health
By daniela233 (Finland)
I’m concerned about mental health in my country, and more specific young people's mental health. The problem is related to SDG number 3, that promotes good health and well-being for all at all ages. In Finland the culture is very self centered and subjects like mental health is not a thing that we discuss openly. We are the ones to rule this world next and if we are too sick to take care of it the society systems will go under.
Mental illness is a worldwide problem and it occurs in every country and nation in the world. A screening of world mental health was done in 2017 by IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, in the USA).This screening included depression, anxiety, bipolar, eating disorders, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug use disorders and neurodevelopmental disorder. With a percentage of 17,5% for men and 19.2% for women, Australia is the country with most mental and substance disorders. The country with least disorders is Vietnam with a percentage of only 9.0% for men and 10,4% for women. In Finland the statistic showed 14.6% for men and 15,2% for women.
A survey done by THL (the Finnish institute for health and welfare) in 2019 answered by 260 000 student between grade 4 and high school/professional school, showed that the visits to the school psychologists have increased and that the supply of psychologists still is too little. During the last ten years the amount of persons needing help has doubled. But the resources are the same as they were ten years ago.
According to psychologists throughout Finland, the problem lies in the whole healthcare system. The government should invest more money in all stages of development. But this is not a investment the government hasn't done yet.
Because of the urbanization more and more people move closer to the capital city. This means the ones working in that business too, which means that the lack of psychologists are even larger in areas in Lappi and the need is more urgent there than in Helsinki, even though it is a problem in Helsinki too.
Another cause is the lack of psychologists. In Finland 250 students are admitted to study psychology every year. 20 of those admitted takes the training in swedish and those are supposed to cover the need of the 6 % of swedish speaking citizens in Finland. This makes the problem huge, there will always be a lack of psychologists speaking both finnish and swedish. Like me studying in a swedish school, we have to share our psychologist with at least one other school, which means that she/he won’t necessary be in the school when needed.
The impacts of the problem is seen clearly in the society, with a larger amount of people in need of help and with the whole healthcare system failing. The same pattern will exist in the future if we don't do anything fast. During the last three years the amount of people who don't work has increased by 53 %, because of a burnout or some other mental illness, and this amount seems to rise even further. We are the future of this planet and if all of us suffer from a burnout or from a mental illness the world won’t develop and our modern society structure wouldn’t work as it does today.
I propose that the government invests in the training of future psychologists. That the amount of admitted student would be larger. In this way the lack will decrease. The step is still big to take when going to the school psychologist and I would like to change that. By having all the students go to the psychologist throughout their years in school, like they go to the dentist, the step would be smaller. As a student I can do something too. By talking about it and addressing the problem others will see it too and hopefully it would start a campaign like #meetoo did in 2017. By talking about it and not keeping it as a taboo subject the problem will get better.
Sources:
Our World in Data, Mental Health.
Accessed on 21th May 2020 at
https://ourworldindata.org/mental-health
Psykologiliiton verkkolehti, Koulupsykologikäynnit ovat lisääntyneet- tarjontaa yhä liian vähän.
Accessed on 21th May 2020 at
Psykologiliiton verkkolehti, Lapset ja nuoret pakotetaan pompotteluun- missä on ongelman ydin?
Accessed on 21th May 2020 at
Psykologiliitto, Psykologien koulutus.
Accessed on 21th May 2020 at
https://www.psyli.fi/tietoa_psykologeista/psykologien_koulutus
Hufvudstadsbladet, Utbrändhet är vår dyraste folksjukdom
Accessed on 21th May 2020 at
https://www.hbl.fi/artikel/utbrandhet-ar-var-dyraste-folksjukdom/
Here are Some More Posters Created to Address SDG 3 in the time of Covid 19 and Beyond
Students at St Mark's Meer Bagh New Delhi, and Mt St Michael's College in Brisbane Australia engaged in an interesting discussion using Microsoft Teams Meet Now. Some of the points of discussion lead to the following posters being shared.
The video is one exchange held between St Mark's School and I, where we discussed the SDGs and the implications of Covid on health and well being. It lead to the conversation with my students and cross cultural learning that is now allowing for further engagement.
The Pink Ribbon
By daniela233 (Finland)() Write the World
For all the women all over the world, for our health and well-being. The Pink Ribbon.
The pink ribbon is a world wide campaign that supports the research of breast cancer. It started in the US in 1991 and have spread all over the world since. Every year in Finland we have a celebrity who designs the ribbon. Last year 2019 it was Seela Sella who is a famous actor in Finland.
But why you may wonder, what is the point of the pink ribbon?
In Finland 6500 women get sick from breast cancer every year. We need more advanced research and more support for the women, and it's here the ribbon comes in. Last year in 2019 in Finland we collected 2,8 million euros for research. The amount of women who is getting sick is growing more and more every year and we need more resources to care of all the women in our country.
We all know someone with cancer, and that's why every singel one of those ribbons has a meaning and a value. Every single ribbon is a step towards a safer future for women. How is its in your own country? Have you heard of the pink ribbon?
As a response to Daniela from Finland's writing, we created a Flipgrid. Here is Elora from Brisbane Australia's response.
Those responding were asked to wear pink.
And here is another wonderful graphic created by Daniela of Finland.
We need to consider why such goals are so important and develop solutions to help tackle them.
Copy of Earth - Science Fair Project-2.pdfHere Are The Measures Taken To Contain/Stop Covid-19 From Spreading.
By NURAINI AMIRAH Seri Puteri
One would think a pandemic to only be something out of the ordinary; a plot in a horribly written novel, something that humans believed to be fictitious although the year 2019 had certainly proved humanity wrong. It was almost as if Mother Nature threw a fit; she was tired of all the destruction humans had been carrying out on her sacred land and that Covid-19 was karma, a form of punishment for all of us. Assuming I put this into a metaphor, it was like a mother telling her child to go to their room; except this time going to our rooms meant being quarantined for an unidentified amount of time. There was no specific cure yet, no pills that you can swallow or drugs you can pump in your system in hopes to fight the menacing Coronavirus. On the bright side, amid all the gloom regarding the world’s current situation, some measures can be taken to stop Covid-19 from spreading such as avoid touching your face, nose, and mouth, wash your hands regularly and lastly, stay at home and immediately report yourself to your doctor if you find yourself having Covid-19 symptoms.
First of all, avoid touching your face, nose and mouth. Like all viruses, Covid-19 likes to multiply and spread to ensure they survive. Covid-19 spreads through droplets in the air let out when an infected person sneezes or coughs. These droplets can enter through wet parts of your face; your eyes, nose and mouth and these provide a direct pathway to your throat and lungs. To avoid this, a lot of people wear face masks and while that is usually effective, it isn’t anymore when they touch their faces with hands exposed to the environment, especially without sanitizing or washing their hands first. The journey the virus takes to enter our body is easier than you think. The droplets from someone’s cough or sneeze might fall directly into your eyes, nose or mouth if you’re close enough to the infected person, letting the virus enter your system straight away. In another situation, the droplets might fall onto a surface where you then put your hands on. If you don’t wash your hands, you could move the virus into your eyes, nose or mouth and become infected. The infected person might also get the droplets on their hands if they cough or sneeze into them, and then place them on a surface, where you pick them up. By avoiding touching your face, nose and mouth the spread of the Covid-19 virus can at least be stopped this way although most people find this hard since we all unconsciously touch our face on a daily basis!
Second of all, wash your hands regularly. Now, we have all seen advertisements about how important it is to not just wash your hands but wash them regularly especially during this pandemic breakout. Most people take this information carelessly without realizing how deadly it is if we were to touch our faces without washing our hands first. Of course, avoiding touching your hands is one thing but how are you so sure your hands are completely safe from the virus? Without knowing, even if you aren’t one to be infected you may have been a spreader, carrying the deadly disease with you wherever you go. You touch any surface and the virus stays there, enabling any poor man to come along and unsuspectingly touch said so surface. In an effort to keep your hands clean, obviously you can’t spend the rest of your day by the sink hence having a hand sanitizer with you wherever you go serves the same purpose. By the time, hopefully, this pandemic is controlled, hand sanitizer companies would most likely not have to work for another decade with the number of people buying their products whatever the cost for the sake of avoiding Covid-19 from spreading. All in all, your role in washing your hands doesn't only affect you; it affects the whole community.
Lastly, If you suspect yourself of having the virus, immediately stay at home and go on total lockdown. Don’t go into public especially crowded places and don’t forget to call the doctor regarding further procedures to be taken. Whether you are sure you are positive or negative on Covid-19, in cases like this it’s good being paranoid for once. A lot of people tend to forget that they themselves are possible of being Covid-19 positive thus spreading the virus unknowingly by being in public because they think they just have a common cold. Being on quarantine might just save other people. If you find yourself sneezing or coughing out of the blue, you should try to stand 1.5 metres away from them, to stop any droplets getting into their system. How far is 1.5 metres? It’s about the length of a shopping trolley, a giant tortoise or the height of Kylie Minogue. Imagine keeping one of these things between you and anybody else and thumbs up, you’re good to go.
In conclusion, there are a lot of ways actually to help contain Covid-19 from spreading and not just the one I have stated above. Although there is no cure available yet, human beings have proven ourselves to be survivors, that is; if we know how to do so. Washing hands regularly, avoiding touching the face and staying at home are all simple acts that when done as a society will bring the most positive outcome. Our role in stopping Covid-19 from spreading does not only affect ourselves; sometimes mankind is so cooped up in our own bubble of selfish worries that we tend to forget whatever we do can and will affect others. It’s up to us in how we choose to handle that. It’s up to us to choose how we affect the community and its future of surviving. I choose to save mankind, together and not turn on each other when groceries have run out and bills are not paid. I choose our survival together. Do you?
Insufficient sex education, a real matter by Hlan.N Vietnam
March 17, 2020
PROMPT: Op-Ed Competition 2020
Hitting puberty with a lot of unexpected changes on my body, I was completely surprised about how great a body can change during this time of life. Much taller...much stronger…more curves for girls….as long as GENDER AND SEXUAL MATTERS. Having been to several sex-ed talks and classes before, I stepped in my puberty with confidence and pride. But I soon realize the undeniable amount of information that the sex-ed has lacked. I started questioning about many aspects of my health, the changes of my body, how to deal with the immediate rise of hormones and how to protect my self from any type of sexual harassment. And this situation happens to not only me but also thousands of teenagers out there. Some are still proud of the small amount of knowledge of sex. Some are lost and helpless in caring for their hygiene and sexual problems. Some is too naïve to realize the truth that they are becoming the targets of perverts or pedophiles.
Countless significant signs are showing that young people lack knowledge about formal sex education. And this lack of sex and relationships education will sooner or later not only create “a ticking sexual health time bomb” but also disorientate the sexual behavior. In my opinion, a reform of sex education is of great significance for the future of the community.
The key justification for the betterment of the sex education is simply to acknowledge how to maintain good reproductive health. Commonly, sex education has been famed in the context of physiological and biological knowledge without any updates or teaching aids. Therefore, the sex-ed undoubtedly fails to meet the needs of young people and manifestly fails to improve sexual health in most countries. Of the data gathered in my country, only 8% of high school girls who have intercourse, have admitted using one contraceptive method (including many unscientific forms) when this rate in boys is 29.5%. Around 6,000 teenagers officially have abortions in Vietnam every year. Or this was proven during George W Bush's administration. He is the ONLY candidate in US history to run on and win on an education platform. In the end, NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND actually funded, solely, abstinence-only ed programs. The result was a massive rise in teenage pregnancy and STIs/STDs.However, in my opinion, the most critical failure of sex ed is the lack of details on genital hygiene. Due to conservative attitudes toward sex and reproductive health, all young people learn is only about intercourse and breeding. As a result, many adolescents and even adults are lacking of knowledge about genital hygiene and uneducated on women’s health care. The best example is from my personal experience. In the middle of 7th grade, I had first my period, and that is the first time I see a real pad. Not until the end of 8th grade, I heard about feminine hygiene gel. And I only know about tampons and menstrual cups until I’m 14 but never see them in real life.
Furthermore, I believe the lack of sex education is responsible for negative attitudes toward genders and sexual behaviors. That sex education is not informative, accurate and relevant can not message the understanding of gender and gender diversity. Censoring the amount of information in sex-ed being taught, especially regarding emerging queer identities, is harmful when the limited knowledge fails to help them explore their identities. Yet, many LGBT individuals fail to find verification information about their identities and bodies that would help them during adolescence. Moreover, that the sex education only focuses on the straight sex also contribute to the sense of prejudice and negative discrimination against queer individuals. Hence, many adults are not educated about or aware of homosexuality as an identity. Some continue to believe that homosexuality is a psychological condition or disorder instead of a natural way of life. The discrimination and prejudice that gay people face in the present is a consequence of the non-updated, impractical sex education because that is where they first learn about sexuality and gender.
On the other hand, the straight sex people also have many setbacks in their life due to the lack of sex-ed such as sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and even rape. Insufficient sex education massively contributes to the inappropriate sexual behaviors. Undergraduate women who took sexual education classes before college were half as likely to be sexually assaulted in college, according to a recent study by Columbia University, compared to undergraduate students who received abstinence-only education. Because effective sex-ed sends the message that it is a personal right to say yes or no. Furthermore, people have enough awareness to identify the risk and to handle the situation. Educating children on consent would help lower sexual assaults and help victims seek help, but instead, most people are taught to be shameful of sex regardless of whether they gave consent. Besides, they can protect themselves from physical, emotional, sexual abuse in relationships and have a dare to speak out and to ensure human rights. It is a certain base to build a happy and healthy community.
There are some suggested sex education reforms. Most countries require comprehensive sex education for children beginning in primary school. Not only should the government provide detailed models and discussion time to the teaching programs, but it should also require, at minimum, that the programs be medically accurate. The government should also adopt several updates required of comprehensive sex education-such as communications, LGBTQ+ talk, boundary skills, relationship awareness, and birth control options. Moreover, every city should also change the sex education programs that work for each city’s needs.
To sum up, personally speaking, insufficient sex education is a circumstance that doesn’t only matter me but also the community health and morality due to its effect on both physical and psychological aspects. Even in developed countries where its sex-ed is considered inclusive and effective, there are numerous omissions. Sex education is a human right, and everyone must receive it in the most relevant way.
Footnotes
(1) the information gathered is from a new in my country https://news.zing.vn/thuc-trang-tinh-duc-hoc-duong-o-viet-nam-hien-tai-nhu-the-nao-post826002.html
(2) this number is from this new https://www.marketwatch.com/story/want-to-fix-the-metoo-problem-start-with-eliminating-abstinence-only-sex-education-2018-09-19
I have read many articles and references. Above is a personal opinion, it is a serious problem in my country. It is my first time writng on write the world, i still have many mistakes. Apologize for it.