Squaring the circle: health as a bridge to global solidarity in the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in September 2015 to follow on from the Millennium Development Goals, require action by all countries. The new goals range from traditional areas of health and education to a newer focus on global trade and environmental protection. We discuss how all countries can be incentivised to engage and commit and argue that thoughtful target-setting and benchmarking, a more aggressive focus on equity and an emphasis on the interdependence of health and non-health development goals are key to meaningful progress. Fundamental shared values and aspirations around health, and in particular child health, within SDG3 may, we argue, offer a platform on which to build genuine global solidarity.