Urban health in Africa: looking beyond the MDGs

Abstract

Achieving development and eliminating poverty are dependent on improving the health of populations, which are increasingly urban based. In this short paper we highlight the importance of context for understanding urban health in Africa, drawing in particular on the case of Ghana, and sketch out the implications of this new context in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The rise of non-communicable diseases in an African context, including those related to obesity, work environments and mental health, and how these are gendered is given particular prominence. It is essential that the SDGs reflect the changes that have taken place over the past 15 years in the location of populations and the associated configuration of health challenges, including their gendered nature.