Your weekly summary of NCD activities, curated by the WHO NCD Department
CALLS FOR ACCELERATED ACTION AT THE WORLD NCD CONGRESS
This year’s Global NCD Congress has focused on the theme of Prioritizing Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases: Taking Data and Knowledge to Action, with widespread participation from WHO staff.
In his recorded message, Dr Tedros recognised that deciding which NCD interventions that countries should adopt fundamentally depends on good data, explaining which populations are hit the hardest, and which policies and programmes will have the biggest impact. Learning from our Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, we heard lessons of how data is necessary to prioritise high-quality care for people living with NCDs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
And in her keynote on the theme of 'On the road to 2025: preparing for the next high-level meeting on NCDs towards achieving the SDGs', Dr Bente Mikkelsen explained why the implementation roadmap recently adopted by Member States at World Health Assembly 75, alongside other initiatives including to support people living with NCDs in humanitarian settings, is one of many milestones to accelerate urgent global progress needed on NCDs.
You can learn more about the Global NCD Congress below.
THIRD TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING ON DIABETES
Last year, we established the WHO Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Diabetes (TAG-D). The TAG-D acts as an advisory body to WHO, to further our leadership and coordination role in promoting and monitoring global action against diabetes, including on the production of global goods, and country support.
Last week, we held our third meeting of the TAG-D, focusing on accelerating action on the recent decisions taken at World Health Assembly 75, setting global diabetes coverage targets for the first time ever. The five new targets set the standard that, by 2030:
- 80% of people living with diabetes are diagnosed
- 80% of people have good control of glycaemia
- 80% of people with diagnosed diabetes have good control of blood pressure
- 60% of people with diabetes of 40 years or older receive statins
- 100% of people with type 1 diabetes have access to affordable insulin and blood glucose self-monitoring.
Other discussions including on partnerships, establishing a research agenda to improve diabetes care in low- and middle-income countries, and associations between diabetes, tuberculosis and mental health.
PARTICIPATE IN OUR WEBINAR SERIES ON SAFE LISTENING
Over one billion people are at risk of hearing loss due to the common practice of listening to music at high volume for long periods. To address this public health concern, WHO has developed a global standard for safe listening venues and events. Alongside this, it has prepared tools to promote safe listening among the youth.
On 1 June, WHO hosted a webinar on 'Implementing an mSafelistening program'. In case you missed it, you can access the recording below. The webinar focused on practical steps for developing a digital health messaging programme that promotes safe listening practices among the youth. It is one in a series, with two forthcoming meetings:
Join the upcoming webinar series to know more about these products:
- 30 June 2022: Implementing the Global standard for safe listening venues and events
- 28 July 2022: Using our WHO Media Brief on safe listening.
We look forward to seeing you there and to have you become a part of the WHO initiative to Make Listening Safe!
UPDATING THE WHO NCD BEST BUYS: PARTICIPATE IN OUR WEB-BASED CONSULTATION
Last week, we shared information about the update to 'Appendix 3', on a set of policy options and cost-effective and recommended interventions to assist Member States in implementing contextually-appropriate measures towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 3.4.
The last revision of 'Appendix 3' was endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 2017 (decision WHA70.11). That endorsement enabled the WHO Secretariat to include an updated Appendix 3 in the report of the UN Secretary-General to the United Nations General Assembly on NCDs in December 2017.
In response, the WHO Secretariat is again updating Appendix 3. This will be considered by Member States at the 76th World Health Assembly (2023) though the 152nd session of the Executive Board.
We are delighted to announce our first draft WHO discussion paper on the updated Appendix 3! If you would like to be involved in the update, please explore the engagement opportunities listed below:
1 to 26 June 2022: WHO Secretariat will publish a first draft WHO discussion paper containing a proposed updated Appendix 3 for a web-based consultation.
20 June 2022: WHO Secretariat will convene a first informal consultation with Member States and UN organizations.
24 June 2022: WHO Secretariat will convene a first informal consultation with non-State actors (NGOs, private sector entities, philanthropic foundations and academic institutions).
25 July to 21 August 2022: WHO Secretariat will publish a second draft WHO discussion paper containing a proposed updated Appendix 3 for a web-based consultation.
16 September 2022: WHO Secretariat will convene a second informal consultation with Member States and UN organizations.
19 September 2022: WHO Secretariat will convene a second informal consultation with non-State actors.
You can find a set of technical briefs for each major NCD and risk factor, including a list of interventions that have been modelled through the WHO-CHOICE program, which conducts a 'generalized cost-effectiveness analysis' on health interventions, accounting for setting-specific factors such as the burden of disease, health system practice, and economic conditions.
WHO has set the bold target of one billion more people achieving universal health coverage by 2023, while it is critical to embed simple and essential NCD interventions in primary health care.
Watch our live WHO Q&A on primary health care and universal health coverage, exploring how Member States can prioritise stronger health systems.
LEARNING LESSONS FROM NCDs AND COVID-19
On the sidelines of WHA75, a side-event convened by Bloomberg Philanthropies focused on 'Lessons Learned from NCDs and COVID-19' highlighted that there has never been a better, or more important, time to invest in NCD prevention and control and implement the policies that work.
Long before the pandemic, NCDs were already responsible for nearly three-quarters of global deaths, and they continue to be leading threats to health in all countries. They have also contributed substantially to deaths and serious illness from COVID-19, yet in some cases have been deprioritized as health issues. You can see our discussions of why NCDs are critical to health emergencies below, as well as hearing from esteemed delegates, including:
- Dr Kelly Henning, Head of Public Health Programming, Bloomberg Philanthropies
- Dr John-Arne Røttingen, Ambassador for Global Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
- Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead World Health Organization
At World Health Assembly 75, Member States decided to adopt an implementation roadmap, identifying a critical need to accelerate the Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2030. Comprehensive and sustained surveillance, monitoring and evaluation is a core theme of this roadmap.
As Dr Ren Minghui, Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage / Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases shares, data are critical to providing quality services for people living with NCDs.
UNDERSTANDING THE POLICY LANDSCAPE FOR LOW- AND NO-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: REAL IMPROVEMENT OR APPARENT SOLUTION?
Zero and low-alcohol beverages (NoLos) consumption has been significantly growing. NoLos could generate health improvements at the individual level if it leads to reduced levels of alcohol consumption. However, NoLos consumers are disproportionately young, men and higher income, risking inequity, while some appear to consume NoLos in addition to stronger drinks.
At the population level, evidence of the benefits of this expanding market is limited. Experts have raised concerns about the impact of NoLos, including misleading minors, pregnant women, abstainers or those seeking to stop drinking. There is also fragmented and inconsistent governance of NoLo products, including regulation on standards, labelling and marketing across countries.
The contribution of NoLos to reducing alcohol-related harm is unclear given low market share, irregular consumption pattern and the high proportion of consumers reporting no change in alcohol consumption.
Many other issues remain unsettled: the implications of NoLos branded and displayed close to alcoholic beverages; NoLos as a new drinking behaviour that would lead to an actual decrease in alcohol consumption; what data is needed to scope the problem and its implications for public health?
On 23 June, the latest webinar in our ‘Less Alcohol’ series aims at raising awareness about NoLos by untapping their potential and hidden pitfalls, scoping existing policy and regulatory gaps and identifying potential harm and public health measures to address a future increase in NoLos consumption.
Participation in this event is by invitation. However, if you have not received one, you can still register and your application will be considered. This event is co-organized by the Less Alcohol Unit of WHO's Health Promotion Department and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità- Italian National Institute of Health.
HOUSEKEEPING
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