United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, all United Nations (UN) member states came together and adopted Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. At its heart are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that encompass the social, economic, and environmental challenges of today.

Many Government of Canada priorities align with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, including gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity. To support a whole-of-Canada approach, the Government of Canada has established an SDG Unit to coordinate efforts, raise awareness, monitor, and report on Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Despite its relatively focused mandate, the PMPRB is invested in supporting the equity and health impact initiatives underpinning the climate action goals in the 2030 Agenda through the effective implementation of its new regulatory framework and by providing analytic support to Health Portfolio efforts to develop and maintain a sustainable and accessible Canadian healthcare system.

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Planned initiatives Associated domestic “ambitions or targets or” and/or global targets

SDG 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries

  • The Patented Medicine Price Regulation program is mandated to protect against excessive pricing of pharmaceuticals.
  • Although this mandate does not allow for price reviews to target priority equity groups, non-excessive prices for patented medicines will most benefit those directly affected by wealth inequality. Likewise, savings from any resultant price reductions can enable reinvestments in the health system. 
  • The PMPRB’s new regulatory framework aims to more effectively capture, prioritize, and investigate medicines at a high risk of excessive prices.
  • A broader basket of comparator countries under the revised Patented Medicine Regulations gives the PMPRB more accurate tools to ensure that list prices set in Canada are in line with peer countries.
  • The Patented Medicine Price Regulation program supports UN Global Indicator 10.4: Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality.

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

  • Health impacts and inequalities resulting from the effects of climate change will require flexibility in health system spending for payers in coming years.
  • The Patented Medicine Price Regulation program is an essential cog in the work underway to develop and maintain a sustainable healthcare system that will allow payers to be responsive to the needs of Canadians.
  • The Pharmaceutical Trends program contributes to this project by furnishing analytic reports that support informed policy development for initiatives such as the development of a national Pharmacare program, the establishment of a Canadian Drug Agency, and the development of a rare disease strategy.
  • The Patented Medicine Price Regulation and Pharmaceutical Trends programs supports UN Global Indicators 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries and 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

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