Health and Global Policy Institute’s (HGPI) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Project and the Planetary Health Project has submitted public comment on the “Voluntary National Review on Sustainable Development Goals” by the Global Issues Cooperation Division of the International Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The call for public comments for this draft is now closed.

At the United Nations Summit held in September 2015, the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” consisting of 17 goals, were adopted as shared international objectives. The SDGs aim to realize a society where “no one will be left behind” by addressing a wide range of economic, social, and environmental challenges in an integrated manner. The Government of Japan plans to present its “Voluntary National Review (VNR),” a state-led, periodic review reporting on progress toward the SDGs, at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in July 2025. Japan has previously conducted VNRs in 2017 and 2021, making this the third report.

The SDGs consist of 17 goals and 169 targets, with Goal 3—“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”—serving as a central theme in the field of health. However, issues such as AMR and planetary health are not limited to this goal alone; they are deeply connected to many other SDG goals and targets as well.

In relation to AMR, one of the global indicators for SDG Goal 3, “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” explicitly includes the “Percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms,” highlighting AMR as a serious global health issue. Additionally, the concept of “One Health,” which often arises in discussions on planetary health and AMR, is based on the perspective that human health is closely interconnected with the health of animals and the environment. This approach aims to realize a more sustainable society by taking a comprehensive view across all the SDGs.

In lights of this situation, HGPI submitted a public comment that includes the following points, taking into account issues surrounding AMR and the perspective of planetary health.

Key points of the public comment

AMR

• To include a section on AMR control in this report, continuing from the 2021 VNR report.
• To add a statement that the agricultural sector is contributing to strengthening health systems, including AMR and emerging and reemerging infectious diseases measures through the One Health approach.
• To clearly state Japan’s achievements in AMR control and its international leadership in the section on international cooperation.
  
  

Planetary Health

• To add a statement that the perspective of “planetary health” has been incorporated into policies such as the Basic Environment Plan, SDGs Implementation Guiding Principles, and the Basic Plan for Establishing the Recycling-Based Society.
• To include information on the negative health impacts of climate change and environmental issues, as well as measures being taken to address these impacts, such as the “Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS)” and the “Adaptwell.”
• To clearly state the relationship between climate change and health as a global health issue Japan is addressing, and to add that Japan is contributing through participation in the “Alliance for Action on Climate Change and Health (ATACH).”

For more information on this public comment, please click here (only available in Japanese).