Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Present methodology for the concurrent development of quantitative targets that reflect improvement in the national average of an indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3), as well as a reduction in geographic inequality. METHODS: A five-step algorithm was developed: a) calculate the national average annual percentage change (AAPC) for an SDG3 indicator; b) standardize the definition of geographic strata based on subnational distribution of the indicator in a base year; c) apply a criterion for proportional progress in the AAPC in order to project the stratum-specific indicator to the target year; d) set the national target as the weighted average of the indicator in the subnational territorial units for the target year; and e) develop inequality reduction targets by calculating absolute and relative gaps between the top and bottom strata for the target year. RESULTS: The algorithm was applied to SDG indicator 3.1.1 (maternal mortality ratio, MMR), disaggregated by Guatemala's 22 departments for base year 2014 (MMR = 113/100,000 live births). By sustaining the average AAPC rate attained from 2009 to 2014 (-4.3%) and targeting its actions to territorial progress, the country would reduce its MMR to 53/100,000 by 2030 and its absolute and relative gaps by 72% and 48%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed methodology makes it possible to concurrently develop targets for the reduction of geographic inequalities in health and improvements in the national average, with explicit reference to the primacy of the principle of equity expressed in the SDGs' commitment to leaving no one behind, whose urgency is newly important in the current post-pandemic scenario.