Sustainable development goals: a call for future internal medicine

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Internal Medicine
• Sustainable Development

Background:

• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) presents a global challenge for societal sustainability.
• SDG 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, emphasizing disease prevention and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the crucial role of internal medicine in achieving SDG 3.
• To explore how internal medicine can address both communicable diseases (CDs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Main Methods:

• Review of the United Nations (UN) universal call to action.
• Analysis of the internal medicine's holistic and patient-centered approach.
• Consideration of a syndemic approach integrating health dimensions.

Main Results:

• Internal medicine can combat infectious disease burden and NCDs through prevention, treatment, and drug development.
• A patient-centered, multidisciplinary strategy can prevent resource misallocation and medical errors.
• A syndemic approach is fundamental for designing sustainable healthcare systems.

Conclusions:

• Internal medicine is pivotal in achieving SDG 3 by providing comprehensive, patient-centered care.
• Coordinating multidisciplinary teams and adopting a syndemic perspective are essential for sustainable healthcare.
• Ensuring accessible care, affordable drugs, and vaccines is key to improving quality of life for all.