De Montfort University is a global academic hub chair and as such publishes a progress report on both the individual United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as a comprehensive report on all the goals.
Our 2025 report will show what the university has been doing in terms of research, teaching, partnerships and engagement in helping to meet those targets and raising awareness of the progress towards the 2030 aims.
This is the progress report for SDG 3 Good Health and Well Being. The full report on all the SDGs can be viewed here.
UN PROGRESS REPORT ON SDG 3 in 2025
GLOBAL health progress is slowing after decades of gains. Between 2000 and 2019, maternal and child mortality declined significantly; the HIV incidence rate fell; and healthy life expectancy increased by over five years.
However, COVID-19 reversed some of these gains, cutting life expectancy by 1.8 years and slowing progress towards nearly all health-related SDG targets.
Consequently, just 5% of the targets set for 2030 are on target to be met, although a further 30% have shown moderate progress. A further 50% of targets have shown just marginal progress and 15% have actually stagnated.
The UN 2025 progress report states: “Infectious and non-communicable diseases remain major threats. AIDS-related deaths have halved since 2010, and 54 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease.
“Meanwhile, malaria cases are rising; tuberculosis returned to being probably the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent in 2023; and non-communicable diseases killed 18 million people under age 70 in 2021.
“Risk factors such as tobacco use, air pollution and poor diet remain insufficiently addressed. Deep inequalities and under-resourced systems persist.”
MAJOR DMU NEWS ON SDG 3 IN 2025
Funding boost to tackle county health inequalities
MILLIONS of pounds of government cash to help carry out wide-ranging research to identify the health needs for people in Leicestershire has been confirmed.
Leicestershire County Council, in partnership with local universities, has secured £5.25m of funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) project.
De Montfort University Leicester, Loughborough University, The University of Leicester, and University of Nottingham, as well as Leicestershire Academic Health Partners, which includes the NHS and health-focused academic organisations, are key partners for the innovative collaboration.
Researchers mark milestone in Kenyan collaboration
RESEARCHERS from Kenya are spending time at DMU), marking a milestone in a collaboration that aims to transform health outcomes for pregnant women in East Africa.
Dr Namuyenga Toko Eunice and Master’s student Sharon Kwamutakha, both from Maseno University in Kenya, are working with DMU researchers as part of the first phase of a project designed to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) during pregnancy.
Research shows that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day
RESEARCH from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) finds that skimping on breakfast is a false economy, and people who do are prone to eating carbohydrate and fat later in the day.
The study by nutrition experts at DMU found that a 50% reduction in portion size at breakfast meant that participants on average consumed 286 calories, most often from foods like cake, crisps, biscuits and bread throughout the day.
New collaboration to develop greener, more affordable anti-cancer compounds
PATIENTS around the world could have access to more affordable cancer treatments thanks to an innovative new applied research collaboration.
De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and advanced chemical solutions specialist Fluid Science have won funding from Innovate UK to support the development of a new generation of anti-cancer compounds.
The team will work together on developing and refining active compounds using cutting-edge green chemistry techniques, using cleaner, sustainable methods which both make the process better for the environment and reduce costs - meaning potential treatments can reach more patients.
DMU brain scan study finds evidence that autism is a difference, and not a deficit
GROUND-BREAKING research led by scientists at DMU has found neurobiological evidence that autistic brains work differently, not worse.
The study, led by Dr Moses Sokunbi, Senior Lecturer in Medical Physics at DMU, found new evidence that autistic brains process information in different ways compared with non-autistic, or neurotypical, brains.
Dr Sokunbi and his team explored how brain signal complexity - the irregularity of brain activity patters - relates to problem-solving abilities.
Scientists find new way to stop 'silent killer' Chagas Disease
A NEW study could pave the way for novel treatments for Chagas disease, a life-threatening illness that affects millions worldwide.
The disease, caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, can lie undetected for years before triggering serious complications and even sudden death. With current treatments often ineffective and carrying severe side effects, there’s an urgent need for new drug options.
Working in partnership with an international consortium of experts, scientists DMU developed a new class of compounds that have shown real promise in preclinical testing.
MAJOR DMU RESEARCH ON SDG 3 IN 2025
A Novel Fuzzy Logic Framework for Model Reliability Evaluation in Permeability Prediction using GPR
Lawal, Ahmad; Yang, Yingjie; Baisa, Nathanael L.; He, Hongmei (2025)
THIS study proposes a novel approach using fuzzy logic to compute a single, comprehensive metric that accounts for model reliability.
Our method incorporates human input and reasoning into the modelling process, enhancing the model’s interpretability and its ability to handle uncertainty. Additionally, we introduce a new visualization technique to simplify the understanding of fuzzy logic outputs for non-technical stakeholders.
The proposed methodology demonstrates that GPR achieves a higher reliability level (0.89) compared to traditional machine learning counterparts, which are typically neutral to uncertainties.
https://doi.org/10.1109/cicn63059.2024.10847526
How to Improve Uptake and Access to Breast Cancer Screening for Minority Ethnic Women in Leicester
Aslam, Haleema (2025)
THE existing research in the UK indicates minority ethnic women are less likely than their White British counterparts to access the National Health Service Breast Cancer Screening Programme, (NHSBSP), and specific minority ethnic groups are more likely to experience the most aggressive forms of breast cancer with the poorest chances of survival.
Despite, the absence of uptake data by ethnicity, certain factors prevalent in Leicester such as lower general uptake of the NHSBSP than in similar areas, one of the highest minority ethnic populations in the UK, and high levels of deprivation indicate uptake level of the NHSBSP for minority ethnic women will be low.
Therefore, solutions to improving uptake should be developed from the perspectives of minority ethnic women.
How to Improve Uptake and Access to Breast Cancer Screening for Minority Ethnic Women in Leicester.
The PMDWell Framework: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Video Game Players’ Wellbeing
Olejarnik, S.Z. and Romano, D.M. (2025)
DESPITE the video game moral panics that have sprung up since the early 1990s, videogames remain a popular medium, increasing in capacity and market value every year.
With the growth in the number of digital game players came the growth of uncertainty over the impacts of video games on wellbeing.
The new generations are growing upsurrounded by ubiquitous, always-available digital technology and increasingly practice digitally mediated socialisation. The cultural shift suggests a change in the conceptualisation of wellbeing that can explain the phenomena of video game playing deaths.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100806
Preparing medical and pharmacy students for collaborative working in primary care: the value of interprofessional practice-based course in medicines optimisation
Anderson, E. S., Sanders, C., and Lakhani, N. (2025)
TODAY more older people are living longer with complex health conditions and social care needs.
Multimorbidity is often managed by community practitioners who oversee the use of multiple medications, which can lead to polypharmacy safety concerns.
While clinical pharmacists’ roles are established in acute settings, they are in the main new in family practice or primary care. To help medical and pharmacy students understand more about clinical pharmacists in primary care, we used an interactive experiential learning model for students over two days.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2025.2517216
P80 What can we learn from Australian patients’ journey to mesothelioma diagnosis? A qualitative study
Coleby, D., Oviasu, O., Padley, W., Hinsliff-Smith, K., Logan, P., Coles, J., Oostveen, C., and Linton, A. (2025)
THE United Kingdom and Australia are amongst the countries with the highest rate of mesothelioma, a rare cancer due to exposure to asbestos.
There is a very low survival rate partly due to delayed diagnosis, and deaths are on the rise. There were 2,446 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2020, an increase of 6% compared with 2019. While in Australia, there were 701 deaths in 2020, an 3% increase.
The aim of the study is to explore the Australian patients’ journey from symptoms to diagnosis, to identify key factors that may have contributed to a timely (or delayed) diagnosis. Key learning points relevant to UK practice, will be presented.
https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2025-SSMabstracts.156
Invaders and Containers: Cognitive Representations of Biological and Particular Matter (bioPM )
Mitchell, A. S., Lemon, M. and Drew, G. H. (2025)
AIR quality management concerns the assessment, analysis and mitigation strategies associated with ensuring that air is breathable and non-toxic.
Successful management is a cognitively intensive task, knowledge-focused and converges multiple sources of information to develop a shared understanding of a problem. To operate effectively in this space, managers and operational teams share common points of reference in discussing problems and solutions, strategies, tactical briefings, etc., and communication and technical language use are key to the discipline.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pollutants5030017
“It Is Not Possible to Balance It Easily”: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Experience of Work–Family Conflict in Contemporary Chinese Society
Chen, S., Cheng, M.-I., Elqayam, S., and Scase, M. (2025)
THIS qualitative study aimed to explore the work–family conflict phenomenon in China, to extend our understanding of such a phenomenon experienced under a different cultural background outside of the West, and to help suggest the Chinese culturally specific variables (e.g., filial piety) related to the work–family conflict in China for future research.
A purposive sample of 16 Chinese employees was interviewed. Using Creswell’s phenomenological method, six themes and 17 sub-themes emerged through 297 significant statements.t
https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16010063
Exploring economic inequality with critical qualitative approaches in psychology
Carr, P., Goodman, S., Jowett, A., Abell, J., and Demasi, M. (2025)
THIS editorial introduces our special issue showcasing how qualitative research methods can be used in psychological research to explore economic inequality.
Economic and class-based inequalities are global problems that have a negative impact on people’s well-being.
The papers within the special issue demonstrate how differing methodological approaches such as discursive psychology, thematic analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis can be utilised to offer insights into the complexity of economic inequality as a social justice issue.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2025.2601440
Climate anxiety in perspective: a look at dominant stressors in youth mental health and sleep
Ogunbode, C.A., Player, L., Lu, S., Park, M.S.A. and Doran, R. (2025)
THERE is growing evidence that climate anxiety is associated with significant effects on the mental health and wellbeing of young people.
However, the relative importance of climate anxiety for young people's mental health has hitherto been unclear, as climate anxiety has largely been studied in isolation from other common stressors.
This study sought to contextualize the significance of climate anxiety for the mental health of UK young adults relative to other concurrent psychological stressors.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.70057
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being