RESUMEN
The Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978 and the subsequent Declaration of Astana in 2018 highlight the important role of primary health care in delivering 'health for all' and supporting progress towards universal health coverage. Alongside these key declarations, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) establish an ambitious framework aimed at promoting sustainable development worldwide by addressing poverty, inequality, climate change, health and other global challenges by 2030. There has been progress in respect of many SDGs since their launch in 2015. Nevertheless, many challenges remain, and there will need to be a significant increase in effort if the 2030 targets are to be met in full. Primary health care in Malaysia has evolved in line with broader, global developments. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for the country's primary care physicians to do more to support efforts to achieve the SDGs, including those that extend beyond the health sector as conventionally defined. This paper outlines a number of areas where primary care physicians, fulfilling roles as clinicians, community members, managers of their practices and influential members of society, can contribute to promoting sustainable development in line with the SDG agenda.
RESUMEN
This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. Universities, as engines of knowledge creation and dissemination and as incubators of disciplined yet original thinking, have a key role to play in tackling the most complex challenges that societies and our planet face, from infectious diseases to the climate emergency. This commentary presents the perspectives from Sunway University, a young private university in Malaysia that made a strong commitment to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) prior to the pandemic, and its experiences in promoting research, innovation, and learning as part of COVID-19 recovery and in preparation for future crises such as the climate emergency. Some of the university's initiatives include embracing the planetary health approach, reviving essential public health functions, exploring pandemic resilience, addressing 'infodemics' and promoting science diplomacy. The example of Sunway University provides some insights on the opportunities and challenges that academic institutions face as they seek to reorient the paradigm of education, research, and service away from disciplinary siloes and towards a more integrated, preventive, accessible and translational approach.