NEW TOOL FOR DEVELOPING A MULTISECTORAL NCD ACTION PLAN

A multisectoral action plan is one of the best ways a government can plan strategic policy-making to prevent and control NCDs, bringing sectors and ministries together to foster policy coherence in national NCD responses. As the development of a comprehensive multisectoral action plan for NCDs diseases is an ambitious task, WHO has developed an online toolkit to assist with this process.

Newly launched, this toolkit is a “how to” guide for developing, implementing and evaluating a multisectoral action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs. It is intended to help countries, provinces and cities to achieve global and national NCD targets, and the SDGs. 

The tool has five stages, focused on establishing health needs and engaging relevant stakeholders, before determining the actions to take, identifying and prioritizing interventions, deciding on ways to address NCDs while establishing support and resources for prevention and control, and evaluating progress in implementing the plan.

HOSTING A PRIVATE SECTOR DIALOGUE ON HYPERTENSION

Cardiovascular diseases account for the most deaths globally, with ischaemic heart disease and stroke accounting for 80% of these deaths. Hypertension is the most important risk factor for these diseases that are the leading cause of death globally, affecting approximately 1.3 billion adults globally.

Even though hypertension can be easily detected through measuring blood pressure, at home or in a health centre, and can generally be treated effectively with medications that are largely considered low cost and widely available, less than half of adults with hypertension are diagnosed and treated, with even fewer - only around two in ten people  having it under control. This reveals several gaps in the treatment cascade for hypertension including awareness, diagnosis, treatment and control, all of which could prevent millions of avoidable NCD deaths.

WHO’s Department for NCDs, in collaboration with the Health Products Policy and Standards Department, convenes a series of dialogues with the private sector to define meaningful and effective contributions that can assist national NCD responses.

This dialogue aims to encourage inputs, commitments, and contributions from the pharmaceutical and health technology industries to support WHO’s activities to improve access to these life-saving medicines and health technologies for hypertension diagnosis, treatment and control. This includes access to antihypertensive medicines and blood pressure monitoring devices. To inform a productive discussion, WHO has developed a discussion paper and list of requests of the private sector to achieve these commitments and contributions.

You can find more information about this dialogue, and other dialogues in the series, below.

INTEGRATING DISABILITY INTO THE DIGITAL MAINSTREAM

A new report from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, and co-chaired by Dr Tedros, Director-General, and Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO highlights the importance of integrating disability inclusive features into the digital mainstream. 

The report, titled ‘The Future of Virtual Health and Care Driving access and equity through inclusive policies’, acknowledges that despite over one billion people having some form of disability worldwide, a large proportion of them are left out of the digital society. Specific challenges identified include less or restricted access to digital devices, lower digital literacy, limited internet access, and challenges accessing care and digital therapies. 

Positively, the report notes that targeted initiatives and improved accessibility features in virtual health and care solutions, based on universal design principles, can serve the unique needs of people with disabilities, and facilitate their integration into the digital mainstream.

The inclusive representation of people living with disabilities, including meaningful engagement at every stage of policy development, implementation and feedback, and the use of knowledge-sharing frameworks, are two further opportunities.

STAKEHOLDER MEETING ON CHRONIC RESPIRATORY DISEASES

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death globally. In 2019, 3.2 million people died from COPD, while a further 0.5 million people died from asthma. Yet, these diseases do not have the visibility that other NCDs such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases have, and the need to raise awareness about chronic respiratory diseases, and advocate for their prevention and treatment is clear.

Bringing stakeholders together, we recently held a meeting to re-focus efforts of the Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD). By extending GARD’s membership, aligning activities with WHO priorities and strengthening links with relevant WHO workstreams, we can increase our impact for people living with asthma and COPD across the globe. 

Focused on the issue of access to care, the meeting builds on events earlier in the year, including a stakeholder meeting hosted by The Union on ‘Improving access to affordable quality-assured inhaled medicines in low- and middle-income countries’, and a WHO Spotlight Session titled ‘How can we ensure effective asthma and COPD care for all who need it?'. It also explored opportunities for knowledge sharing and refocusing our research agenda.

NEW SUNSMART GLOBAL UV APP TO PROTECT FROM SUN AND PROMOTE PUBLIC HEALTH

Globally, it is estimated that over 1.5 million cases of skin cancer (melanoma and non-melanoma combined) were diagnosed globally in 2020. During the same period, more than 120,000 people across the world lost their lives to this highly preventable disease.

A new app for mobile phones that provides localized information on ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels has been launched by WHO, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). 

The SunSmart Global UV app provides five-day UV and weather forecasts at searchable locations. It highlights time slots when sun protection is required with the aim of helping people around the world know when to use sun protection, in an effort to reduce the global burden of skin cancer and UV-related eye damage.

The SunSmart Global UV app is available free of charge at both the Apple App and Google Play stores. It was developed by the Cancer Council Victoria and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, both WHO Collaborating Centres in Australia where a similar app demonstrated improved UV protection public awareness when it was used to support a decades-long, systematic public health campaign promoting sun-smart behaviour. 

CELEBRATING A DECADE OF OUR COLLABORATING CENTRE FOR LAW & CANCER

To celebrate ten years of the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer, you are invited to an exclusive Virtual Dialogue on using the law for cancer prevention and control, hosted in conjunction with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).



This special Virtual Dialogue will explore how McCabe Centre’s alumni have progressed cancer control laws around the world, and key focus areas for the future of cancer prevention and control through law.

 It will include: 

• Dr Amit Yadav, McCabe Centre alumnus, Senior Technical Advisor, The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), (India);
• Vicki Wari, McCabe Centre alumna and Program Manager for NCDs at the National Department of Health (Papua New Guinea);
• Dr William Maina, Senior Project Officer of WHO Regional Office for Africa
• Evita Ricafort Regional Manager for Asia, McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer (The Philippines).

This Virtual Dialogue will be a celebration of progress, but also an opportunity to exchange ideas and perspectives on what comes next. A virtual artist will also be capturing key themes from the speakers and audience. 

WORLD HEARING FORUM: MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 15 JULY 2022

The World Hearing Forum is a global network of stakeholders promoting ear and hearing care worldwide. Through networking and by sharing knowledge, skills and experiences from the field, the World Hearing Forum is galvanizing action towards a world in which no person experiences hearing loss due to preventable causes. It also advocates for those with hearing loss to be able to achieve their full potential, through early identification and appropriate management of their condition.
 
With over 200 members, the Forum has active working groups advocating for different areas of ear and hearing care, focused around:

• Make Listening Safe
• World Hearing Day
• Changemakers in ear and hearing care 
• Implementation of the World report on hearing

If you are a stakeholder promoting ear and hearing care, you can apply to become a member of this global network. Please note membership applications for 2022 will now be accepted until 15 July 2022.

JOIN OUR ROSTER OF CONSULTANTS FOR INTEGRATED NCD SERVICE DELIVERY

Within the NCD Department, our Integrated Service Delivery unit works with Regional and Country Offices and partnering organizations, supporting Member States to design and deliver quality, equitable and people-centered NCD services. 

The Unit’s current work includes developing and translating evidence-based guidance for NCDs into practical solutions at country level, by shifting from fragmented models of care, toward an integrated continuum of NCD care models throughout the life-course. 

We are seeking to build a roster of consultants who can help the delivery of the Unit’s functions. Specifically, the consultant will contribute to NCDs service delivery model and implementation work in countries as follows:

• Provide technical expertise on NCD service delivery and models at countries, focusing on implementation research, services integration and models, process monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes.
• Assess and facilitate the engagement with implementation stakeholders at the implementation sites including private service providers, proposing and testing solutions and approaches to integrate, scale up the NCD service coverage, improve uptake and retention, optimize NCD care pathways and strengthening continuity of care. 

If this sounds like you, we look forward to hearing from you!

JOIN US IN OUR NEW WORLD REHABILITATION ALLIANCE

There is an urgent need to strengthen rehabilitation around the world. Globally, an estimated 2.4 billion people are living with a health condition that could benefit from rehabilitation. This number is expected to grow due to people living longer and with more chronic disease and disability. 

However, in low- and middle-income countries, more than 50% of people do not receive the rehabilitation they require. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future rehabilitation needs is also yet to be seen.

The World Rehabilitation Alliance is a new WHO global network of stakeholders, working together to support the implementation of the Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative through advocacy. It focuses on promoting rehabilitation as an essential health service that is integral to Universal Health Coverage and to the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Specifically, it has objectives to:

• Conduct evidence-based advocacy activities that increase support and raise awareness on rehabilitation, and
• Strengthen networking and knowledge sharing within the rehabilitation sector.

Last month, we announced an online application process for joining the World Rehabilitation Alliance. Membership approval will be based on an assessment, due diligence process, and review of submitted documents, in accordance with the eligibility criteria and with WHO rules and policies.

We hope you will join us!

HOUSEKEEPING AND COUNTRY IMPACT

As part of efforts to improve WHO communications, we always want your feedback of what you like, and what you would like to see more of! Send me your feedback below.

We are also piloting a new On The Pulse feature series, working with WHO Regional and Country Offices to explore our country impact on NCDs! If you would like to be kept in the loop about this, please also let me know by writing.

THE TWEETS WE RETWEET

• Explore the launch of NCD Alliance's theme for this weeks Global Week of Action on NCDs, 'Invest to Protect' (June 2022)
• Integrated care for better health and stronger systems for NCDs and HIV/AIDS (June 2022)