The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals were created as a means to resolve problems affecting both people and planet by the year 2030.
In a previous post, we discussed three of the 17 UN goals, and how the business and services that we provide aligns with them. In this blog, we’ll be looking into some of the other goals, and how we action them at our partner projects and with our volunteers.
The third goal is Good Health and Well-Being.
At our partner projects where students are provided with a meal, we make sure that the food they receive is both filling and high in nutritional value.
However, there is one project we are partnered with in particular where this goal can be seen in action. Tegbi Birthing Clinic in Ghana has been provided with beds, birthing chairs, and water tanks, through funds donated to African Adventures Foundation. The equipment helps to provide a safer environment for labouring mothers, assisting in the reduction of the global maternal mortality rate, and the prevention of the deaths of new-borns and children under five.
The sixth goal, Clean Water and Sanitation, is achieved through improving toilet facilities and ensuring the availability of water at each of our partner projects.
This year, our volunteers have worked to improve toilets at a number of schools in each of our destinations. We have already installed piped water in Ghana and Kenya and hope to do so as well in Zanzibar, once funding is confirmed. The benefits of having access to water facilities speak for themselves, but in simple terms, when the students are well, they can stay in school for longer, and get more from their education.
Having Affordable and Clean Energy is the seventh of the 17 UN goals.
In our mission to adhere to this goal, the work we do actually encompasses two of the other goals – Responsible Consumption and Production, and Life on Land. The biggest contributor to the achievement of this goal currently can be seen in the communities surrounding our Ghanaian partner projects. Close to 3 billion people use open fires to cook food and heat their homes – an activity which has many negative effects on individual health. We have been working with local families to trial the use of Gyapa stoves. These stoves cook food more quickly, whilst requiring 50-60% less fuel and producing less smoke. The effect on individual health is significantly lessened because of the reduced exposure to fumes, whereas impact on the environment is lowered due to the lessened requirement for fuel.
Meanwhile, our UK Office is carbon neutral and takes measures to ensure all our practices are sustainable. This is namely achieved through offsetting our emissions, the eco-friendly purchasing of Fairtrade and recycled products where possible.
Keep an eye out for our final blog post covering the remaining goals, and why they are so important.
