This week saw not only the World Health Summit as well as the launch of a new initiative named “Better Care for NCDs: Accelerating Actions in Primary Health Care” by PAHO: lying the groundwork to expand equitable access to integrated and comprehensive NCD services within Primary Health Care in the Americas.
NCD Achievements at WHO-PAHO Directing Council
There were two NCD achievements during the 60th PAHO Directing Council , taking place from 25-29 September. The launch of a new initiative named “Better Care for NCDs: Accelerating Actions in Primary Health Care”, that aims to accelerate the integration of NCD management into primary health care services, building upon existing efforts with a steadfast focus on reaching the underserved, guided by the principles of equity. The launch took place during an event on the sidelines of the Organization’s 60th Directing Council. Watch the launch here, or read a Booklet about the new initiative. And a new Policy on Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults was approved by the Member States. It aims to promote a series of interventions targeted at children, adolescents, and young adults aimed at preventing the development of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and seeks to address cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases, which account for 81% of all deaths each year in the Americas. You can read the information here or use our Visual Summary.
World Health Summit
15-17 October: WHOs’ Director-General opened the World Health Summit. On Sunday morning, the WHO Berlin Hub, which is part of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme hosted a breakfast reception for staff attending the Summit. The WHO Director of NCD spoke at the High-level Panel Discussion on “Harnessing Innovation to Empower the Health Workforce for NCDs”, and the session on “Private-Public Partnerships for Equitable Surgical Care Delivery”. Other NCD focused sessions included “Scaling Up Integration of NCDs in Primary Care”, “Tackling Inequalities in Outcomes in Women’s Cancers”, Towards a Global Roadmap for Fast Access to Innovative Cancer Treatment and Care” with a side event focused on Cervical cancer elimination.
For more information contact Martyna HOGENDORF, Martyna
Free HPV Vaccine launched in Bangladesh
HPV Vaccine, a single dose vaccine for cervical cancer has been launched by the government of Bangladesh in October. Providing the vaccine free of cost. In Bangladesh, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women and is responsible for the country’s highest number of cancer-related deaths.
Save the date: Cervical Cancer Elimination Day November 17
For more information contact ssultana@who.int
Tuberculosis and diabetes stakeholder consultation
WHO hosted a stakeholder consultation on addressing the joint burden of tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes on 12-13 October, with the aim of reviewing and discussing the draft WHO operational guidance on TB and diabetes and to more comprehensively address the double burden of disease. Diabetes is known to increase the risk of TB, death from TB, relapse after TB treatment and of drug-resistant TB. The prevalence of diabetes is rising in countries with a high burden of TB, underscoring the importance of strengthening collaborative activities that supp6/ort screening, diagnosis and coordinated care and follow-up to optimize the management of both conditions. Over 25 stakeholders from all WHO regions attended the consultation, including representatives from Brazil, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Morocco, Sri Lanka and the Republic of Moldova. Also, in attendance were civil society representatives, technical and funding agencies and staff from WHO headquarters and regional offices. Shared experiences highlighted the importance of health systems strengthening, surveillance, political will and multi-sectoral engagement as well as addressing challenges in access to diagnostics and medicines that will be critical to ensuring the successful implementation of TB-diabetes collaborative activities and optimal care, with a view to improving outcomes for people with TB and diabetes. All feedback will be used to strengthen and support upcoming guidance on the implementation and scale-up of TB-diabetes collaborative activities outlined in the forthcoming WHO Operational Handbook on TB and Comorbidities.
For more information contact Bianca HEMMINGSEN
WHO at the XXIV FIGO World Congress of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
9 – 12 October, Paris, France: WHO is proud to join the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) at their 24th World Congress Working in partnership with FIGO, WHO and the United Nations Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) had a dedicated stream of 24+ sessions at the congress, addressing health and rights issues that affect women across the life course. Gynaecologists and obstetricians play a critical role in improving the health outcomes of women and girls across the world. This was reflected in the inclusion of the WHO session on WHO Womens Cancer Initiatives: Current Status and Opportunity for Integration, which focused on cervical cancer. In August 2020 the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination as part of the WHO global call for action to eliminate cervical cancer.
For more information contact Yaa BOSOMTWI
Regional consultation on economic and commercial determinants
From 17-19 October, the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office convened a pivotal consultation focused on the economic and commercial determinants of health in the region. Attended by member state representatives not just the Ministries of Health, Trade, Economy, Commerce and Industry, as well as civil society, experts, and practitioners from United Nations organisations, the meeting, was the first of its kind for the region and the second globally, and fostered valuable exchanges of knowledge and insights, deepening the understanding of regional health priorities and strategic alignments suitable in the regional context. Attendees were briefed on both global and regional conceptualisations and evidence, WHO Global Report on the Commercial Determinants of Health along with possible points of action at country and regional levels. Experiences, challenges, inputs, and priorities shared by the attendees will be developed by WHO SEARO in a regional review, meeting report as well as a technical paper on the scope of commercial determinants of health across countries in 2024, followed by the development of policy briefs for selected countries by 2025 to sensitise health programmes and relevant development sectors. WHO HQ will, additionally, incorporate inputs shared into its broader programme of work and as revisions in the ongoing drafting of the Global Report.
For more information contact Juliette MCHARDY
World Cancer Leaders' summit
16-17 October, United States. The theme of the WCLS 2023 is "Cancer Control in a Changing World".
The WCLS is traditionally organised in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is hosted by a UICC member from the region where it is being held.
African Region: Country Disease Outlook
These country disease status reports provide a succinct overview of disease profiles across countries in the WHO African region. The focus is on the status of key indicators for the eradication, elimination and control of communicable and non-communicable at national level, and how these indicators measure up against the SDG 2030 goals. While enormous progress has been made in many areas of disease eradication, elimination and control in the WHO African region, there are few SDG indicators that have been met in full. The COVID-19 pandemic is at least partly responsible for this, but we must not ignore that fact that in some cases, momentum was already slowing.
For more information contact Prebo BARANGO
WHO launches the WHOeyes app on World Sight Day
October 12 On World Sight Day the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched “WHOeyes” a free app for the general public to check how well they can see things close up and at a distance and learn how they can protect their eyes. The app checks visual acuity – a measure of how well the eye can distinguish shapes and details at a given distance and is the most common assessment of visual function. It is a simple, non-invasive measure, which is critical to determine if someone has a vision impairment Available in all 6 UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish), the WHOeyes app can be downloaded for free both on the Apple App Store and Google Play. . A webinar “Love your Eyes webinars” was also broadcast.
For more information contact Stuart KEEL
WHO Diabetes Newsletter
Read it here and subscribe
Webinar: Meeting the challenge of long-term care
October 24 @ 11:00 AM Eastern Time (Washington DC Time) This webinar, “Meeting the challenge of long-term care: What we need? Where to find it? Can we afford it?” offered now in English after a first Spanish version, is part of the contribution of the Association of Former PAHO/WHO Staff Members (AFSM) to the work of the Decade of Healthy Aging in the Americas (2021-2030). Its objective is to inform about how to plan care for older people to ensure a healthier and longer life. Older people in pre-retirement or retirees can benefit from this virtual event, as well as their caregivers. It will be presented by Martha Peláez, Ph.D. AFSM member and board member of the US National Council on Aging. A panel of experts in long term care from USA and the Caribbean will talk about resources available throughout the region.
Do you know an NCD story?
All champions of health can spread the word about WHO's new call for short films on all health issues. The 5th Health For All Film Festival (HAFF) calls for submissions from 1 November 2023 to 31 January 2024. We invite public health institutions from around the world, NGOs, communities, activists and students in public health, film schools, and other relevant domains to submit their original short films championing a health issue. Independent filmmakers, production companies, and TV broadcasters are also invited to participate. Short documentaries, fiction films, or animation films will have to be submitted in one of the following "Grand Prix" categories: Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Health Emergencies, Better Health and Well-being Four special prizes will be attributed under: Physical Activity and Health Special Film Prize, Migrants and Refugees Health Special Film Prize, Student Film Prize, Very Short Film Prize. Details and applications can be made by clicking the button below. HAFF's social media kit can be used as tools helping to spread the word on this call.
For more information contact filmfestival@who.int
Call for the Technical Advisory Group on Social Connection
3 November: The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to establish a Global Commission on Social Connection. WHO aims to increase the political visibility and priority of the issue; to reposition it as a genuine global public health problem that affects all regions around the world and all age groups; and to compile the evidence on what works and scale up cost-effective solutions adapted to low-, middle-, and high-income countries. To help with this work, WHO is establishing a Technical Advisory Group on Social Connection and issuing an open call for experts. The Technical Advisory Group on Social Connection, composed of up to 20 experts, will act as an advisory body to the WHO Secretariat on the issue of social connection and its impact on health and society. The Technical Advisory Group on Social Connection will be expected to meet approximately two to three times a year, usually virtually but also periodically in person. It will also establish smaller working groups focusing on specific issues which will meet virtually. The working language of the group will be English. The deadline for application is by 23:59 CET on 3 November.
For more information contact Dr Daniel Surkalim (surkalimd@who.int ) or Dr Mikton Christopher (miktonc@who.int)
World Stroke Congress
From 10-12 October WHO scientists, partners and doctors, including WHO-NCD Department Director Dr Bente Mikkelsen, met at World Stroke Congress. High blood pressure is a common, deadly condition that is the leading risk factor for stroke and over 15m died in 2019 from heart attack and stroke. In response WHO released its first-ever report on the devastating global impact of hypertension which affects 1 in 3 adults worldwide. It also showed that if countries can scale up coverage, 76 million deaths could be averted between 2023 and 2050. [https://www.who.int/news/item/19-09-2023-first-who-report-details-devastating-impact-of-hypertension-and-ways-to-stop-it] & the @WHO HEARTS Technical Package [https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240001367] which provides a strategic approach to improving cardiovascular health in countries.
Remember World Stroke Day is on 29 October
For more information contact Taskeen KHAN
World Hospice & Palliative Care Day
Oct 14 was the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. Basic palliative care for is an investment, part of the WHO recommended #BestBuys. Yet it is estimated that globally only 14% of patients in need of palliative care receive it. The need for palliative care will continue to grow as a result of the ageing of populations and the rising burden of #NCDs. Listen to @DrTedros for more on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
Save the Date & Register Now for these Upcoming Events
Meeting of the WHO Working Group on Palliative Care
30 October: event marking the launch of the WHO Special Issue on Measurement of Healthy Ageing in the Oxford Journal of Age and Ageing.
World Diabetes Day
13 November: Register for the WHO & International Diabetes Federation webinar
14 November: live social media event
London Global Cancer Week
11 –18 November: theme of The Global War against Cancer.
Do you have upcoming NCD events? Contact Anne Kennedy
Please send your updates for inclusion in the next edition of the NCDs Newsflash: johannesa@who.int
