Agenda 2030 for sustainable development in Portuguese Speaking Countries, indicators inequalities

Abstract Background Achieving the SDG Sustainable Development goals represents a major global challenge. The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) is made up of countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Brazil, Portugal, and East Timor. Studies on SDG indicators are little studied among these countries. The study analyzes SDG health indicators in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and their projections for 2030, and investigates the correlation between the countries’ level of development and the performance of these indicators. Methods Ecological epidemiological study. Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study between 1990 and 2021 were analyzed, referring to fifteen indicators: universal health coverage, sanitation, smoking, maternal and child health, vaccination coverage and communicable diseases. The GBD study generated projections by calculating the annual change since 1990 for each country and year and then calculating the weighted annualized rate of change. The correlation between the Sociodemographic Index (SDI) and the SDG indicators was investigated using the Spearman test, at a significance level of 5%. Results The best performances of the analyzed indicators were seen for Portugal, followed by Brazil, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe. In other countries, high rates of infectious diseases, maternal and childhood mortality, malnutrition, low vaccination coverage and sanitation were observed. There was a negative correlation between the SDI and the indicators of childhood mortality rate (R=-0.82; p < 0.05), malnutrition (R=-0.7; p < 0.05), incidence of tuberculosis (R =-0.73; p < 0.05) and positive between SDI and sewage coverage (R=-0.83; p < 0.05). Conclusions The CPLP presents internal differences regarding the health indicators analyzed, making it essential to advance cooperation between countries to achieve the SDG targets in 2030. Key messages • There are great inequalities between SDG indicators in Portuguese-speaking countries. • It is important to advance technical cooperation between countries to formulate solutions and leave no one behind.