With less than five years remaining to meet the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), how are ASEAN countries progressing on health-related targets? On April 21, 2025, researchers from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University (DKU) published a study in PLOS Medicine titled “Progressing towards the 2030 health-related SDGs in ASEAN: A systematic analysis.” The paper assesses how ASEAN member states are advancing toward health-related SDGs and identifies the gaps that remain. The study finds that overall health outcomes have improved across the region. While positive trends are identified in nutrition and maternal and child health indicators, major challenges persist in areas like infectious diseases control.
Positive Progress with Disparities Across Countries
The UN’s 2030 Agenda established SDGs to guide global development, with SDG 3 (“Good Health and Well-Being”) aiming to significantly improve population health. However, disparities in socioeconomic development among ASEAN member states—including Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—have led to imbalanced progress in public health systems and infrastructure.
“We analyzed 27 key health-related indicators, drawing from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021, as well as monitoring data from the World Bank and the WHO,” said Lei Guo, first author and Senior Research Fellow at DKU’s Global Health Research Center. “The indicators cover seven thematic areas: nutrition, maternal and child health (including reproductive health), infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), environmental health, universal health coverage (UHC), and road safety. We created a 0–100 attainment index to evaluate each country’s progress toward 2030 targets and projected likely outcomes based on past trends.”
The study found an overall upward trend in the health-related SDG attainment index for ASEAN from 1990 to 2030. If current trajectories continue, most countries are expected to perform significantly better by 2030 than in 2015. Singapore and Brunei are projected to achieve most of their goals (attainment score ≥ 90). However, substantial disparities remain within the region. Countries like Laos, the Philippines, and Cambodia lag behind regional averages on several key indicators and are unlikely to meet their 2030 targets without stronger intervention. In general, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand perform better than their regional peers.
Note: Areas in green indicate a value ranging from 0 to 100. Darker green indicates a higher value. Map data courtesy of https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/maps; Available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004551.g003
Most Gains in Nutrition and Maternal-Child Health with Challenges Remained in Infectious Diseases Control
Progress varies significantly across the seven domains. ASEAN countries have made the most gains in nutrition and maternal and child health (MCH).
Decades of public health programs—such as child immunizations, maternal care, and nutritional supplementation—have yielded positive results. The study estimates that by 2030, most countries will meet their targets in child nutrition and MCH indicators. Over 90% of ASEAN members are projected to succeed in areas like reducing child stunting and maternal mortality.
UHC progress is uneven. While several middle- and high-income countries have established mature systems, Thailand stands out for its early implementation of universal coverage in 2002 and is projected to lead the region with a UHC index close to 98 by 2030. In contrast, countries such as Cambodia still show relatively low scores. Overall, only four of the ten ASEAN nations are expected to fully meet the UHC target by 2030, with three nearing the goal and three lagging significantly behind—underscoring the need to strengthen health system equity and investment in lower-performing countries.
Infectious disease control remains the region’s greatest challenge. According to projections, no ASEAN country will fully meet the infectious disease target by 2030. Even Brunei, the top performer, is expected to reach only 78, while the Philippines is projected to score just 22.
“Despite significant efforts in countries like Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, ASEAN as a whole is falling short in controlling HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases,” said Dr. Yafei Si, co-first author, former Research Fellow of DKU Global Health Research Center, and Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. “This is the single largest gap area among all health-related SDGs.”
Progress in NCDs, environmental health, and road safety is also limited. Most countries—except Singapore and Brunei—are unlikely to meet environmental targets. For example, Malaysia continues to experience high rates of traffic-related mortality.
Scaling Up Efforts Toward 2030
“Our study presents a mixed picture,” said Professor Shenglan Tang, corresponding author, and Co-Director of the Global Health Research Center at DKU. “While regional averages are improving, the disparities between countries—and across different health indicators — remain stark. The progress in nutrition, MCH, and UHC are promising, but they must not mask the deep-rooted challenges in other areas.”
To close the gaps by 2030, Tang emphasized several key strategies: “Governments must strengthen primary care, increase investment in health system infrastructure—especially in rural and underserved areas—and implement policies to reduce out-of-pocket spending and protect vulnerable populations.”
He also called for stronger regional cooperation: “Challenges like cross-border disease transmission and pollution demand coordinated responses. Sharing best practices—like Thailand’s UHC reform or Singapore’s disease prevention strategies—can accelerate progress across the blocregion.”
“Ultimately, ASEAN must focus its attention and resources on the weakest links. Only then can the region advance toward achieving health-related SDGs and improving the well-being of hundreds of millions.”
Read the full article in PLOS Medicine:
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004551
Written and translated by Ruitong Li, Typesetting by Wuyue Qian
