Foto of a person working in a laboratory.

    Health Fighting infectious diseases – a goal of the international community

    Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi and are transmitted from person to person or between animals and humans. In the world's poorest countries, several million people die each year from such diseases – for example, AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis, or diarrhoea. Most of these deaths could be prevented.

    Curbing the spread of communicable diseases is a key global development goal agreed by the international community under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Target 3.3 reads: “By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.”

    Some encouraging steps towards this target have been taken in recent years. In order to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda, the international community will need to significantly scale up its efforts, however.

    The fight against infectious diseases is an important objective of Germany's development policy.

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