title: Sustainable development goals for global health: facilitating good governance in a complex environment.
abstract: Increasing complexity is following in the wake of rampant globalization. Thus, the discussion about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires new thinking that departs from a critique of current policy tools in exploration of a complexity-friendly approach. This article argues that potential SDGs should: treat stakeholders, like states, business and civil society actors, as agents on different aggregate levels of networks; incorporate good governance processes that facilitate early involvement of relevant resources, as well as equitable participation, consultative processes, and regular policy and programme implementation reviews; anchor adoption and enforcement of such rules to democratic processes in accountable organizations; and include comprehensive systems evaluations, including procedural indicators. A global framework convention for health could be a suitable instrument for handling some of the challenges related to the governance of a complex environment. It could structure and legitimize government involvement, engage stakeholders, arrange deliberation and decision-making processes with due participation and regular policy review, and define minimum standards for health services. A monitoring scheme could ensure that agents in networks comply according to whole-systems targets, locally defined outcome indicators, and process indicators, thus resolving the paradox of government control vs. local policy space. A convention could thus exploit the energy created in the encounter between civil society, international organizations and national authorities.
authors: Affiliated Scholar, O'Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Centre, Washington DC, USA. Electronic address: just.haffeld@medisin.uio.no.
authors: Just
authors: J
authors: Haffeld
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D014943:Global Health; D006040:Goals; D006291:Health Policy; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D014480:United Nations
keywords: complexity science; global health convention; global health governance; globalization; sustainable development goals