Pathways for Progress: Point-of-Care-Ultrasound Impacts Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

In Pathways for Progress: Point-of-Care-Ultrasound Impacts Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, we outline the pathway through which POCUS can propel countries to reach the 203 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including reducing mortality and morbidity related to obstetric and trauma care, boosting diagnostics for TB, Malaria and HIV associated complications and neglected tropical diseases. We link the miniaturization of POCUS products to improved environmental sustainability, and the empowerment of a female-led workforce of health professionals using and teaching POCUS to enhanced gender equity. Lastly we outline the role of POCUS in diagnosis and management for the top causes of mortality in low-income countries (LICs) demonstrating this single cross-cutting technology should be leveraged to improve global patient outcomes. Finally, we review the recent 2023 World Health Assembly resolution on diagnostics that will enable prioritization of resources and funding specifically to increase access to appropriate diagnostics, and we call for an acceleration of opportunities to allow innovative technologies to reach remote patients. The United Nations has turned it’s lens to harnessing new technologies to accelerate progress towards the 2030 SDGs and we hope this presentation provides a roadmap to focus all relevant stakeholders on POCUS as one of these technologies.