Skip to main content

Progress towards the 2030 sustainable development goals: direct and indirect impacts on neurological disorders

Journal of Neurology volume 269, pages 4623–4634 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set forth in 2015 as a blueprint for all nations to create a more sustainable future together. These 17 social, environmental, and economic goals have established targets to meet globally by the year 2030, with a focus on pro-poor initiatives, gender equality, and ending hunger. The relationship of the SDGs with neurological disorders and how the achievement of the SDGs intersects with the future of neurological practice have not been comprehensively examined. However, the incidence of neurological disorders, the outcomes of people living with neurological disorders, and the training of future neurologists can be interlinked, directly or indirectly, with programming for the SDGs and their eventual achievement. Each SDG is reviewed in the context of neurology. This lens can inform programming and policy, enhance research and training, and improve inter-sectoral action for neurological disorders worldwide.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. United Nations. The 17 goals | sustainable development [Internet]. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals. Cited 6 Jan 2022

  2. UN GA (2015) Resolution adopted by the general assembly on 25 September 2015, 70/1. Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. A/RES/70/1, 21 October; 2015

  3. Mateen FJ (2007) International education issues: neurology and poverty. Neurology 69(17):1724–1726

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Birbeck GL, Meyer AC, Ogunniyi A (2015) Nervous system disorders across the life course in resource-limited settings. Nature 527(7578):S167–S171

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  5. McLane HC, Berkowitz AL, Patenaude BN, McKenzie ED, Wolper E, Wahlster S, Fink G, Mateen FJ (2015) Availability, accessibility, and affordability of neurodiagnostic tests in 37 countries. Neurology 85(18):1614–1622

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Feigin VL, Vos T, Alahdab F, Amit AM, Bärnighausen TW, Beghi E, Beheshti M, Chavan PP, Criqui MH, Desai R, Dharmaratne SD (2021) Burden of neurological disorders across the US from 1990–2017: a global burden of disease study. JAMA Neurol 78(2):165–176

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Braveman P, Gottlieb L (2014) The social determinants of health: it’s time to consider the causes of the causes. Public Health Rep 129(1_suppl2):19–31

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Mateen FJ (2019) Toward minimum standards guidelines for the delivery of neurological care in complex humanitarian settings. JAMA Neurol 76(4):394–395

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Saylor D, Steiner TJ (2018) The global burden of headache. Semin Neurol 38(2):182–190. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1646946

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Khan NZ, Ferdous S, Munir S, Huq S, McConachie H (1998) Mortality of urban and rural young children with cerebral palsy in Bangladesh. Dev Med Child Neurol 40(11):749–753

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kamath SM, Venkatappa KG, Sparshadeep EM (2017) Impact of nutritional status on cognition in institutionalized orphans: a pilot study. J Clin Diagn Res 11(3):CC01–CC04

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Yu W, Yu W, Liu X, Wan T, Chen C, Xiong L, Zhang W, Lü Y (2021) Associations between malnutrition and cognitive impairment in an elderly Chinese population: an analysis based on a 7-year database. Psychogeriatrics 21(1):80–88

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Traore H, Diagana M, Debrock C, Ba A, Alqad B, Preux PM (1998) Approche socioculturelle de l’épilepsie en Mauritanie [Sociocultural approach to epilepsy in Mauritania]. Med Trop (Mars) 58(4):365–368

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Adamu AS, Sabo UA, Gwarzo GD, Belonwu RO (2018) Nutritional status in cerebral palsy: a cross-sectional comparative survey of children in Kano, Nigeria. Niger Postgrad Med J 25(3):156–160

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kossoff EH, Al-Macki N, Cervenka MC, Kim HD, Liao J, Megaw K, Nathan JK, Raimann X, Rivera R, Wiemer-Kruel A, Williams E (2015) What are the minimum requirements for ketogenic diet services in resource-limited regions? Recommendations from the International League Against Epilepsy Task Force for Dietary Therapy. Epilepsia 56(9):1337–1342

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hussien FM, Dagnaw MM, Ahmed AY, Hassen HY (2021) Lathyrism and socioeconomic disparities: a neglected public health problem in Northeast Ethiopia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 104(5):1889–1894

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Rimmer K, Shah H, Thakur K (2017) Expanding medicines for neurologic disorders on the WHO Model List. Neurology 88(10):e87-91

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Bartlett K. The health of nations: the campaign to end polio and eradicate epidemic diseases. Simon and Schuster; 2017.

  19. World Health OrganizationAtlas: country resources for neurological disorders—2nd ed. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

  20. Price P, Kobau R, Buelow J, Austin J, Lowenberg K (2015) Improving understanding, promoting social inclusion, and fostering empowerment related to epilepsy: epilepsy foundation public awareness campaigns—2001 through 2013. Epilepsy Behav 1(44):239–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. World Health Organization (2006) Neurological disorders: public health challenges. World Health Organization

  22. Summers MJ, Saunders NL, Valenzuela MJ, Summers JJ, Ritchie K, Robinson A, Vickers JC (2013) The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project (THBP): a prospective longitudinal examination of the effect of university-level education in older adults in preventing age-related cognitive decline and reducing the risk of dementia. Int Psychogeriatr 25(7):1145–1155

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Tiamiyu K, Suarez JI, Komolafe MA, Kwasa JK, Saylor D (2021) Effectiveness, relevance, and feasibility of an online neurocritical care course for African healthcare workers. J Neurol Sci 431:120045

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Mateen FJ, Clark SJ, Borzello M, Kabore J, Seidi O (2016) Neurology training in sub-Saharan Africa: a survey of people in training from 19 countries. Ann Neurol 79(6):871–881

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Birbeck GL (2000) Barriers to care for patients with neurologic disease in rural Zambia. Arch Neurol 57(3):414–417

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Majersik JJ, Ahmed A, Chen IH, Shill H, Hanes GP, Pelak VS, Hopp JL, Omuro A, Kluger B, Leslie-Mazwi T (2021) A shortage of neurologists—we must act now: a report from the AAN 2019 transforming leaders program. Neurology 96(24):1122–1134

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Alemán MJ, Nematollahi S, Berkowitz AL (2021) Expanding global access to neurology education. JAMA Neurol 78(10):1173–1174. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.2685

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Nguyen AX, Yoffe L, Li A, Trinh X-V, Kurian J, Moss HE, Wu AY (2021) Gender gap in neurology research authorship (1946–2020). Front Neurol 12:715428. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2021.715428

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  29. Silver JK (2019) Understanding and addressing gender equity for women in neurology. Neurology 93(12):538–549

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Galloway G, Schmitt S, Herman ST, La Roche S (2020) Gender disparity and potential strategies for improvement in neurology and clinical neurophysiology. J Clin Neurophysiol 37(5):446–454

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Kim YD, Jung YH, Caso V, Bushnell CD, Saposnik G (2017) Women’s Disparities Working Group. Countries with women inequalities have higher stroke mortality. Int J Stroke 12(8):869–874

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Díaz-Olavarrieta C, Campbell J, García de la Cadena C, Paz F, Villa AR (1999) Domestic violence against patients with chronic neurologic disorders. Arch Neurol 56(6):681–685

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Khowaja AR, Khan SA, Nizam N, Omer SB, Zaidi A (2012) Parental perceptions surrounding polio and self-reported non-participation in polio supplementary immunization activities in Karachi, Pakistan: a mixed methods study. Bull World Health Organ 90:822–830

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Rice DR, Sakadi F, Tassiou NR, Vogel AC, DjiboHamani AB, Bah AK, Garcia A, Patenaude BN, FodeCisse A, Mateen FJ (2020) Socioeconomic associations of poorly controlled epilepsy in the Republic of Guinea: cross-sectional study. Trop Med Int Health 25(7):813–823

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Rybarczyk MM, Schafer JM, Elm CM, Sarvepalli S, Vaswani PA, Balhara KS, Carlson LC, Jacquet GA (2017) A systematic review of burn injuries in low- and middle-income countries: Epidemiology in the WHO-defined African Region. Afr J Emerg Med. 7(1):30–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2017.01.006 (Epub 2017 Jan 28. PMID: 30456103; PMCID: PMC6234151)

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Mateen FJ (2010) Neurological disorders in complex humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters. Ann Neurol 68(3):282–294

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Zhou S, Zhou R, Zhong T, Li R, Tan J, Zhou H (2014) Association of smoking and alcohol drinking with dementia risk among elderly men in China. Curr Alzheimer Res 11(9):899–907. https://doi.org/10.2174/1567205011666141001123356

    CAS  Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Mukendi D, Kalo JR, Lutumba P, Barbé B, Jacobs J, Yansouni CP, Gabriël S, Dorny P, Chappuis F, Boelaert M, Winkler AS (2021) High frequency of Taenia solium antigen positivity in patients admitted for neurological disorders in the Rural Hospital of Mosango, Democratic Republic of Congo. BMC Infect Dis 21(1):1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Tsotetsi-Khambule AM, Njiro S, Katsande TC, Harrison LS (2018) Risk factors associated with taeniosis-cysticercosis in rural farming communities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Trop Anim Health Prod 50(8):1951–1955

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Ng-Nguyen D, Stevenson MA, Breen K, Van Phan T, Nguyen VA, Van Vo T, Traub RJ (2018) The epidemiology of Taenia spp. infection and Taenia solium cysticerci exposure in humans in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. BMC Infect Dis 18(1):1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Bondy SC, Campbell A (2017) Water quality and brain function. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15(1):2. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010002 (Published 2017 Dec 21)

    CAS  Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Munroe RL, Gauvain M (2012) Exposure to open-fire cooking and cognitive performance in children. Int J Environ Health Res 22(2):156–164

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Cao X, Tang H, Zheng C et al (2021) Association of heating fuel types with mortality and cardiovascular events among non-smokers in China. Environ Pollut 291:118207

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Tsai MS, Chen MH, Lin CC, Liu CY, Chen PC (2019) Children’s environmental health based on birth cohort studies of Asia (2)—air pollution, pesticides, and heavy metals. Environ Res 179(Pt A):108754

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Furlong MA, Alexander GE, Klimentidis YC, Raichlen DA (2021) Association of air pollution and physical activity with brain volumes. Neurology 98(4):e416–e426

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Sakadi F, Mateen FJ (2018) Neurological letter from Chad. Pract Neurol 18(5):426–428

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Saadi A (2016) Opinion: American-Muslim doctor reflects on bigotry at some top hospitals, and beyond. https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/01/08/hospital-bigotry-opinion

  48. No authors listed. UN condemns brutal killing of eight polio workers in Afghanistan. https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1112612. Published Online 24 Feb 2022. Accessed 05 May 2022

  49. No authors listed. Mother and daughter killed giving vaccinations. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42738360. Published Online 18 Jan 2018

  50. Chirra M, Marsili L, Wattley L et al (2019) Telemedicine in neurological disorders: opportunities and challenges. Telemed J E Health 25(7):541–550

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Article  Google Scholar 

  51. UNHCR Global Report 2020 [Internet] (2021) UNHCR flagship reports. https://www.unhcr.org/flagship-reports/globalreport/

  52. Mateen FJ, Carone M, Nyce S et al (2012) Neurological disorders in Iraqi refugees in Jordan: data from the United Nations Refugee Assistance Information System. J Neurol 259(4):694–701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6248-x. Accessed 05 May 2022

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Mateen FJ, Carone M, Haskew C, Spiegel P (2012) Reportable neurologic diseases in refugee camps in 19 countries. Neurology 79(9):937–940. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318266fcf1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Senadim S, Uygun E, Erdogan M, Koksal A, Soysal A, Atakli D (2018) Profile of Syrian Asylum-Seekers from neurological clinic in a Tertiary Center. Eur Neurol 80(5–6):249–253. https://doi.org/10.1159/000496807

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Podsonnaya IV, Shumakher GI, Golovin VA (2010) Dyscirculatory encephalopathy in Chernobyl disaster clean-up workers (a 20-year study). Neurosci Behav Physiol 40(4):467–470

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Sejvar JJ (2020) Neurochemical and neurobiological weapons. Neurol Clin 38(4):881–896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ncl.2020.07.007 (Epub 2020 Sep 12. PMID: 33040867)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Li L, Huang S, Duan Y et al (2021) Effect of ambient temperature on stroke onset: a time-series analysis between 2003 and 2014 in Shenzhen, China. Occup Environ Med. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2020-106985 (published online ahead of print, 2021 Jan 28, oemed-2020-106985)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Guthrie TC, Nelson DA (1995) Influence of temperature changes on multiple sclerosis: critical review of mechanisms and research potential. J Neurol Sci 129(1):1–8

    CAS  PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Semenza JC, Paz S (2021) Climate change and infectious disease in Europe: impact, projection and adaptation. Lancet Reg Health Europe 1(9):100230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Thomas A, Crivello F, Mazoyer B, Debette S, Tzourio C, Samieri C (2021) Fish intake and MRI burden of cerebrovascular disease in older adults. Neurology 97(22):e2213–e2222. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000012916 (Epub 2021 Nov 3. PMID: 34732545)

    CAS  Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Global Brain Disorders Research (R01 R21)—Fogarty International Center @ NIH [Internet]. Fogarty International Center. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.fic.nih.gov/Programs/Pages/brain-disorders.aspx. Cited 6 Jan 2022

  62. Grzybowski S (2004) The black market in prescription drugs. Lancet 1(364):28–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  63. Lisk DR (2007) Neurological letter from Sierra Leone. Pract Neurol 7(3):198–201. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2007.120089

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Mateen FJ (2019) A cascade of care for people with epilepsy: learning from “HIV/AIDS 90-90-90.” Gates Open Res. 3:1502. https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.13043.2 (Published 2019 Aug 6)

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  65. WHO Secretariat (2021) Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022–2031 first draft. WHO https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/brain-health/first-draft-action-plan-on-epilepsy-and-other-neurological-disorders_180621.pdf?sfvrsn=4666e517_5

  66. Parra MA, Baez S, Sedeño L (2021) Dementa in Latin America: paving the way toward a regional action plan. Alzheimers Dement 17(2):295–313. Accessed 05 May 2022

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Neurological Clinical Research Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, 165 Cambridge Street, #627, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Farrah J. Mateen

Authors
  1. Farrah J. Mateen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farrah J. Mateen.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

Dr. Mateen has received research funding from Genentech, EMD Serono, Sumaira Foundation, the Fondation Pierre Fabre, and National MS Society, all unrelated to this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mateen, F.J. Progress towards the 2030 sustainable development goals: direct and indirect impacts on neurological disorders. J Neurol 269, 4623–4634 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-022-11180-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-022-11180-1

Keywords

  • Neurology
  • Health policy
  • Global health
  • Sustainable development goals
  • Poverty