Background

With the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a systematic assessment of how the goals influence child health and vice versa has been lacking. We aimed to contribute to such an assessment by investigating the interactions between child health and the SDGs in Cambodia.

Methods

Based on the SDG Synergies approach, 272 interactions between 16 Cambodian SDGs and child health were evaluated by an interdisciplinary Cambodian stakeholder group. From this, a cross-impact matrix was derived and network analysis applied to determine first and second-order effects of the interactions with a focus on child health.

Results

We show that with the exception of Cambodian SDG 15 (life on land) the interactions are perceived to be synergistic between the child health and the Cambodian SDGs, and progress on Cambodian SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) could have the largest potential to contribute to the achievement of the Cambodian SDGs, both when it comes to first and second-order interactions.

Conclusions

In this stakeholder assessment, our findings provide novel insights on how complex relationships play out at the country level and highlight important synergies and trade-offs, vital for accelerating the work toward the betterment of child health and achieving the SDGs. 

Published in Communications Medicine

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Country: Cambodia