WHO AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

This week, the Commonwealth Secretariat and WHO have signed a memorandum of understanding, committing to strengthening our collaboration on a broad range of public health issues of particular concern to Commonwealth member states and governments. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine equity, advancing universal health coverage, and building resilient health systems.

The Commonwealth Secretariat plays an important role in fostering and supporting greater cohesion among member states and governments in a range of policy areas and programmes. In signing the document, the two parties agree to work together and strengthen the exchange of information on seven priority areas:

• Promoting universal health coverage and primary healthcare;
• Strengthening global health security;
• Promoting healthy environments;
• Promoting the health of vulnerable groups;
• Transforming lifelong learning for health impact;
• Building a data partnership;
• Creating space for innovation and exchange of knowledge.

In his remarks, Dr Tedros noted a number of existing initiatives relevant to NCDs that will be used as catalysts, including work on Small Island Developing States, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, global initiatives on childhood cancer and breast cancer, and the WHO Global Diabetes Compact.

On Monday, WHO and the Commonwealth Secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding expanding our collaboration in seven priority areas, including the achievement of universal health coverage, strengthening global health security, and building a data partnership. You can watch this short video explaining the agreement.

GLOBAL DISABILITY SUMMIT

"More than one billion people around the world experience some form of disability. The right to health belongs to everybody, which is why we must work together to recognize the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing the services they need to commit to creating a disability-inclusive health sector; and to act to make it a reality."

- Dr Tedros, opening remarks at the January 2022 Thematic Pre-Summit on Disability Inclusion in the Health Sector 

Next week, the Government of Norway, the Government of Ghana and the International Disability Alliance are co-hosting the second Global Disability Summit. On 16 and 17 February 2022, the Summit will mobilize efforts to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), champion the principle of leaving no-one behind, and encouraging building back better with more disability-inclusive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Global Disability Summit offers a concrete mechanism for collecting new, ambitious, and widespread commitments critical to achieving real change for persons with disabilities. It follows a successful 'Thematic Pre-Summit on Disability Inclusion in the Health Sector', covering topics such as the need for the health sector to listen to the voices of people who live with disabilities, how inclusion of people with disabilities could help achieve national health objectives, and opportunities for international collaborations. 

The Global Disability Summit has four stated objectives, to:

• Raise global attention and focus on neglected areas and inclusive sustainable development;
• Strengthen the capacity of organisations of persons with disabilities in the Global South and their engagement with governments;
• Mobilise targeted and concrete commitments on disability inclusion and inclusive development;
• Showcase best practice and evidence from across the world on disability inclusive development, and progress made from the GDS in 2018.

NEW REVIEW OF FOOD MARKETING ASSOCIATIONS WITH FOOD-RELATED ATTITUDES, BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOURS 

WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety is pleased to announce a narrative review on food marketing exposure and power, and their associations with food-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. This narrative review has been conducted to update WHO's previous publication on the extent, nature and effects of food marketing from 2009.

Capturing 143 studies between 2009 and 2020, it adds evidence and perspectives on more contemporary types of marketing, reflecting the growth in internet use and food marketing via digital and social media over the last decade.

The review confirms that marketing of foods that contribute to unhealthy diets remains pervasive and persuasive and provides evidence that strengthens the rationale for action to restrict food marketing to which children are exposed. It will also inform the formulation of a forthcoming WHO guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing.

Would you like to help us improve our language and communication about diabetes at WHO? Join more than 700 people with lived experiences of diabetes worldwide who have given us their thoughts! You have until 28 February to complete this survey, exploring your thoughts on diabetes in the media, accurate and compelling language, identity and stigma.

WHO COLLABORATIONS SHARED AT THE IARC SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL

This week saw the 58th Session of the IARC Scientific Council. The Scientific Council reviews key areas of IARC’s research programme, and is a critical part of the Agency’s governance. Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director for Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO delivered WHO’s intervention to the Council, on behalf of all relevant Directors, noting that “the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic are at the heart of the successful collaboration between IARC and WHO”.

Together, WHO and IARC are setting a research agenda focused on innovation that equitably yields population health benefits. This includes recent work on cervical cancer elimination, with IARC playing an important role in providing evidence to support new WHO guidelines on the screening and treatment for cervical cancer, and in quantifying the population attributable fraction of cervical cancer associated with HIV.

The 58th Session of the IARC Scientific Council took place on 9–11 February 2022, held remotely to account for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Isaura Nyusi, First Lady of Mozambique, receives a demonstration of training materials used for breast and cervical cancers. 

The latest in our NCD Stories from the Field focuses on how Mozambique is strengthening its efforts to reduce the cancer burden - you can read it here! 

CALL FOR PAPERS: HEALTH POLICY AND SYSTEMS RESEARCH FOR REHABILITATION

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization has issued a call for papers, as part of an upcoming theme issue on advancing rehabilitation through health policy and systems research. This theme issue will contain a collection of peer-reviewed papers that focus on rehabilitation provision in low- and middle-income countries.

Papers may focus on the following:

• Strategies and service provision models;
• Health financing for rehabilitation;
• Integrating rehabilitation into primary care;
• Approaches to community mobilization for increasing the demand for rehabilitation;
• Models for increasing service delivery by strengthening the workforce.

The deadline for submissions is 28 February 2022 - find out more below!

SCHOOL-BASED ORAL HEALTH WORK IN VANUATU

A line of children forms outside the classrooms at Central School in Port Vila, Vanuatu. One by one, each student approaches their teacher and stands still while she places a drop of liquid on their tongue. After a few minutes, giggles can be heard across the courtyard. A quick wipe of the tongue across each student’s teeth has turned them pink, blue or purple. Blue or purple indicate a student has not brushed their teeth for a week or more and show older plaque build-up, while pink indicates teeth have been brushed in the past 24-hours.

The “liquid” or plaque disclosing gel is one of the steps in Vanuatu’s school-based toothbrushing programme “Gudfala Tut Skul” or “Healthy Tooth School”, designed to teach children aged 5–7 years to regularly brush their teeth and develop lifelong healthy habits.

The programme aims to reduce the high burden of tooth decay and dental caries in children in Vanuatu. According to the 2017 National Oral Health Survey, an estimated 70% of children aged 5–7 years in Vanuatu have tooth decay and bleeding gums, and over 40% of students never or rarely brush their teeth. Since major oral diseases, dental caries and periodontal diseases are largely preventable with good oral hygiene, the Government of Vanuatu developed a National Oral Health Policy and Gudfala Tut Skul programme in 2019 to strengthen oral health promotion in schools, increase access to affordable fluoride toothpaste and emphasize good nutrition, among other aims.

You can read our full feature story on the program below!

WHO INFORMAL CONSULTATION FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH NCDs AND MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION

WHO is developing a Framework for Meaningful Engagement of People Living with NCDs  and Mental Health Conditions. This Framework will guide WHO and Member States in the meaningful engagement of people living with experience in co-designing policies, programmes, and principles.

On 21-22 February (13:00-16:30 Central African Time), the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO EMRO) and the WHO Global Coordination Mechanism for Noncommunicable Disease (GCM/NCD) are co-hosting an informal consultation for people living with NCDs and mental health conditions.

This consultation will support the co-creation and participatory development processes of the framework, and explore how meaningful engagement can be further implemented at a regional and national level. As such, discussions during this regional consultation, and others, will build on other recent WHO Informal Consultations for people living with NCDs (2020) and diabetes (2021), with inputs going into the co-creation and co-development of the framework. 

For more information on the WHO Informal Consultation with PLWNCDs and MHCs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, including how to attend, please access the following expression of interest forms below.

FACING THE PLASTIC TRUTH FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS 

Q: What is the most abundant form of plastic waste in the world?

The Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to raise awareness and drive action on the extensive environmental and human health impacts of microplastics in cigarette filters.

The partnership is facilitated through UNEP’s 'Clean Seas Campaign: Face the Plastic Truth', a global coalition of 63 countries devoted to ending marine plastic pollution. It brings together the Secretariat's experience on the health and public policy dimensions of tobacco products, with UNEP’s research and advocacy on plastic pollution.

We have produced a range of content to support the campaign. This aims to engage Parties to the WHO FCTC, policymakers, civil society, IGOs, influencers, UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassadors and Young Champions of the Earth to raise awareness of the issues surrounding microplastics in cigarette filters among other hidden microplastics that could potentially harm the oceans and marine life.

A: Cigarette butts. An estimated 5.6 trillion cigarettes are smoked each year, two-thirds of which are improperly disposed of. Their filters are composed of thousands of cellulose acetate fibres, which can leach out 7000 environmentally toxic chemicals contained in every cigarette.

Did you know up to 40% of litter in beach and urban cleanups is cigarette butts?

As part of as part of the 'Clean Seas Campaign: Face the Plastic Truth' from UNEP, the WHO FCTC Secretariat has produced this video explaining how tobacco products cause harm to ecology and the environment - watch it here!

OUR NEW LOOK

As part of efforts to improve WHO communications, this edition of the NCD Newsflash comes from our new platform, Campaign Monitor! We appreciate your patience as we refine this new template, and you can share your feedback at the link below.

THE TWEETS WE RETWEET

• @NCDAlliance exploring examples of integrated approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of NCDs and HIV (February 2022)
• Through @FCTCOfficial, a policy brief detailing how tobacco control intersects with each of the Keycap digit oneKeycap digit seven SDGs and their corresponding sectors, specifically for the Sierra Leonean Flag of Sierra Leone context (February 2022)