WHO AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY (UNGA): UNITING HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT FOR ACTION ON NCDs

The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77), at the UN Headquarters in New York, is the first in-person format since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heads of states and governments from 193 Member States will exchange statements in-person in the General Assembly Hall, focused on the theme “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”. 

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as well as other WHO officials, will take part in person and virtually in several of the events to advocate the importance of ensuring strong pandemic preparedness and response, as well as equitable access to vaccines and other COVID-19 tools to end the pandemic. He will also be speaking on multiple occasions of the importance of NCDs as integral to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year marks the first annual gathering of the global group of Heads of State and Government for the prevention and control of NCDs, co-sponsored by WHO. The gathering will also see the launch of a new WHO report: Invisible numbers: The true extent of noncommunicable diseases and what to do about them?

The Global NCD Compact is delivered by a set of Heads of State and Government working to champion the NCD agenda, bringing political leadership to our urgent and pressing health challenge. Together, the Global Group of Heads of State and Government for the Prevention and Control of NCDs will meet annually at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, to discuss opportunities to accelerate the world’s NCD response.

The first annual meeting is planned at a breakfast reception co-hosted by the President of Ghana, the Prime Minister of Norway, WHO Director-General, and Michael. R. Bloomberg, WHO Special Ambassador for NCDs and Injuries, at the Plaza Hotel, New York City, during UNGA77 on 21 September 2022.

WHO AT UNGA: DELIVERING THROUGH THE UN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON NCDs

During the high-level week of UNGA77, Uruguay and WHO are hosting the annual meeting of the Friends of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (UNIATF). The side event is co-sponsored by the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC.

This year’s session will focus on mobilizing resources for NCDs and mental health, and will aim to:

• Highlight action that needs to be taken by Member States, UN agencies and development partners to meet the NCD- and mental health-related SDGs. 
• Launch the 2022-2025 Task Force Strategy, and highlight ongoing initiatives of the Task Force and its members. 
• Promote the recently established UN Health4Life Fund, a multi partner trust fund to catalyze country action for NCDs and mental health.
• Announce winners of the 2022 Task Force and WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care Awards.

The side event will be held virtually on 21 September 2022 between 10:00-11.30 EST (16:00-17:30 CET). To join the event, please register below. 

WHO AT UNGA: NCDs AS CRITICAL TO ADVANCING UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE

In 2015, universal health coverage (UHC) was recognised as a global health priority when world leaders adopted the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3.8, and more recently at the first UN High-Level meeting on UHC in September 2019.

Together, world leaders have committed to a UN Political Declaration on UHC and targets ensuring that 1 billion additional people are covered by UHC by 2023, with a view of covering all people by 2030. The world has also come together to focus on reversing the trend of catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditure and elimination of impoverishment due to health-related expenses by 2030.

In 2023, world’s leaders will meet again at the next UN High-Level Meeting on UHC to review progress made to date and make new commitments. In preparation, WHO staff are joining high-level government representatives and experts at a side event cohosted by NCD Alliance and Viatris this side event on the side-lines of UNGA77.

The objectives of the session are to:

• Explore global progress on UHC generally and specifically the integration of NCDs within UHC benefit packages and social protection schemes since the last UN High-Level Meeting on UHC in 2019.
• Showcase best practice country case examples of UHC benefit packages which integrate people-centred NCD services, including key barriers and enablers for success on NCDs/UHC across key building blocks such as a focus on equity, an optimal health workforce, adequate and equitable health financing, access to essential medicines and technologies for NCDs.
• Discuss potential priorities for the NCD community for the next UN High-Level Meeting on UHC in 2023.

REHABILITATION OF ADULTS POST COVID-19

The WHO Rehabilitation Programme is happy to announce the publication of its 'Living Guideline for the rehabilitation of adults with Post COVID-19 Condition'. 

This rehabilitation guideline answers a request from Member States, patient advocacy groups and clinicians. It has 16 recommendations targeting both program planners and health workers; 5 recommendations have been developed for model of care implementation and 11 recommendations on the clinical rehabilitation management of most prevalent impairments in Post COVID-19 Condition that are amenable to rehabilitation. The guideline content has been incorporated into the latest update of the 'WHO COVID-19 Clinical management: Living Guideline’.

The WHO Rehabilitation Programme wishes to thank its collaborators such as the Guideline Development Group, peer reviewers, and Cochrane Rehabilitation. The guidelines follows last week’s launch of the World Rehabilitation Alliance.

ORAL HEALTH IN THE AFRICAN REGION

At the 72nd WHO African Regional Committee, the first progress report on the Regional oral health strategy 2016-2025: addressing oral diseases as part of NCDs was discussed. 12 Member States delivered a statement, including how they were implementing the regional strategy in their countries. 

Commonalities and differences emerged. Firstly, the epidemiological burden of oral diseases continues to be marked by inequalities that affect marginalized groups.  Secondly,  despite some progress, most countries have not made significant progress towards attaining the objectives of the strategy, such as strengthening advocacy, reducing risk factors, promoting oral health and fluorides,  strengthening health system capacity for the prevention and control of oral diseases; and improving surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of diseases, programmes and research.
 
To accelerate the implementation of the Regional strategy, Member States were urged to:

• strengthen political commitment to address oral health as part of NCDs and the drive towards universal health coverage by leveraging regional and global strategies;
• allocate adequate resources to implement national oral health policies, focusing on key priority areas identified from the lessons learnt from the assessment of the implementation of the Regional strategy;
• foster integrated, cost-effective oral health services and surveillance relying on efficient workforce models as part of health system strengthening

In response, Member States requested WHO to:

• develop an integrated monitoring framework for the Regional strategy aligned with the upcoming global monitoring framework towards 2030;
• consider extending the Regional strategy to align it with the Global strategy by 2030;
• provide guidance and tools to Member States to build capacity and mobilize resources to support the implementation of national oral health strategies and plans.

NCDs AT THE WHO EUROPEAN OFFICE REGIONAL COMMITTEE

The WHO Regional Committee for Europe is WHO’s highest decision-making body in the European Region, comprising all 53 Member States. It convenes once a year for a 3-day session. Ministers of health and high-level dignitaries meet at the Regional Committee sessions to shape political commitment and action to improve the health and health conditions of the people living in the Region.

At these annual sessions, Member States:

• formulate regional policies;
• oversee and review WHO/Europe’s activities;
• comment on the regional component of WHO’s proposed programme budget;
• take note of reports monitoring progress made on various commitments made by WHO;
• consider, revise and endorse new health initiatives;
• adopt new resolutions and decisions that steer the work of WHO/Europe and country offices for the coming years,
• nominate (every 5 years) the Regional Director for Europe, and transmit their decision to the WHO Executive Board for endorsement.

NCDs were prominent at this year’s Regional Committee, including the agreement of a new regional framework on alcohol, as well as the development of a roadmap to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, and work on obesity. You can learn more at the links below!

What do countries need to do to make elimination of cervical cancer a reality? This explainer video takes us through the key elements and actions needed to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem in the WHO European Region 2022–2030

GRASSROOTS INNOVATION TO BEAT NCDs

In 2021, WHO launched the NCD Lab, an initiative leveraging community-driven grassroots innovations with the potential to be game changers in beating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and heart disease. The urgency and complexity of this epidemic call for novel, bold, and equitable approaches. Since its launch, nearly 100 innovative projects have been submitted to the NCD Lab.

In our latest WHO Feature Story, we shine a light on the three winners of the first NCD Lab. The projects featured include: 

• Encouraging young people to use language, metaphor, and imagery to improve public health literacy and creatively expose the drivers of type 2 diabetes in marginalized and low-income communities in the United States of America;
• Working with women and girls facing social stigma and health-related discrimination due to diabetes in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
• Using innovative novel health education materials to address the under-diagnosis and inadequate treatment of type 1 diabetes in children in Indonesia.

Collaborating with WHO’s Innovation Hub for its latest cycle, the NCD Lab invited submissions from innovators tackling the global rise of obesity in support of the WHO Acceleration Plan to STOP Obesity. Submissions are currently under review and winners will be announced in late 2022.

Meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs and mental health conditions can provide expertise & narratives to shape policies, inspire others to join the movement as agents of change, inform those in power, and help achieve #HealthForAll!

GLOBAL STATUS UPDATE ON TOBACCO PLAIN PACKAGING

Plain (or standardized) packaging are measures to restrict or prohibit the use of logos, colours, brand images or promotional information on packaging, other than brand names and product names, displayed in a standard colour and font style. 

In 2018, WHO published a Global status update outlining the first wave of countries that implemented plain packaging, and how they did so. This update outlines how the second wave of countries are implementing plain packaging, relative to the first wave. Over the past four years, countries including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Myanmar, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, and Türkiye have since implemented plain packaging.

There’s even more good news. Since the finalization of this publication, Georgia and Mauritius have issued regulations to implement plain packaging by end of 2022. Armenia, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Finland have also amended their legislation to implement plain packaging. 

The status update should give other countries a push to follow suit with confidence about the legal status and impact of plain packaging. Plain packaging is recommended to be introduced as part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, including large graphic health warnings and comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Plain packaging should be introduced as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy, as proposed in the WHO FCTC. 

Map representing the global status of Plain Packaging (2021)

HEART HEALTH IN THE AMERICAS

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the Americas, and hypertension accounts for over 50% of CVD. Over a quarter of adult women and four in ten adult men in the Americas have hypertension. Unfortunately, the diagnosis, treatment, and control are suboptimal.

HEARTS in the Americas, is the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) flagship initiative for hypertension control and CVD secondary prevention and is currently being implemented in 2095 centers in 24 countries.

In observance of World Heart Day, celebrated annually on 29 September, PAHO, through the HEARTS in the Americas Initiative in collaboration with The Pan American Journal of Public Health, kindly invites you on Thursday, 22 September 2022, to attend the webinar "Use HEARTS for every heart, everywhere".

This webinar aims to highlight the latest trends in population hypertension control and its association with CVD mortality in the Americas and the key interventions for strengthening national programs tackling CVD broadly. 

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

• Check the @NCDAlliance calendar of upcoming #UNGA77 events! (September 2022)
• Spotlighting the importance of a Package of Essential NCD Interventions in primary health care in low-resource settings (September 2022)