The middle of July saw the 3rd Global Rehabilitation 2030 meeting, which included the launch of the World Rehabilitation Alliance. There was a WHO Stakeholders' Webinars on Cancer Initiatives, the launch of a new investment platform to strengthen primary health care services alongside other opportunities to gain funding, research opportunities, policies and guidelines.
Global Rehabilitation 2030 & World Rehabilitation Alliance launch
The 3rd Global Rehabilitation 2030 meeting and launch of the World Rehabilitation Alliance
10-11 July: Responding to the Rehabilitation 2030 Call for Action is perhaps more important today than it ever has been and necessitates a strong and united global effort across stakeholder groups, sectors, and professions. On 10 & 11 July, WHO hosted the 3rd Global Rehabilitation 2030 meeting, opened by the Assistant Director-General of WHO, Dr. Jérôme Salomon, where the significant advances made to date were discussed, including the adoption of the landmark resolution on rehabilitation at the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly. The Director of the NCD Department, Dr Bente Mikkelsen, closed the meeting and included representation from all rehabilitation stakeholder groups. including senior officials and rehabilitation leaders from governments, rehabilitation service user groups, nongovernmental organizations and civil society, funding bodies, international professional associations, research institutions, and WHO along with other United Nations agencies and multilateral organizations.Much has been achieved by the rehabilitation community and key opportunities now exist for accelerating the Rehabilitation 2030 agenda and improving access to these services in countries. Notably, a common vision and strong and united global effort across stakeholder groups, sectors, and rehabilitation professions, have culminated in the adoption of the first ever resolution on "Strengthening Rehabilitation in Health Systems" at the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly.
Key technical resources were launched
WHO also launched key technical resources during the meeting that will better enable countries to strengthen rehabilitation in their health systems. These include, a package of Interventions for Rehabilitation, Guide for Rehabilitation Workforce Evaluation, Routine Health Information Systems – Rehabilitation toolkit, a Policy Brief on Strengthening rehabilitation in health emergency preparedness, response and resilience, Rehabilitation in Health Financing - Opportunities on the Way to Universal Health Coverage
And the World Rehabilitation Alliance was launched
The World Rehabilitation Alliance (WRA) is a WHO global network of stakeholders whose mission is to support the implementation of the Rehabilitation 2030 Initiative through advocacy activities. 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.
For further information please contact the Rehabilitation Team
Stakeholders' Webinars on WHO Cancer Initiatives
Pathways to organize a women centred approach to Cancer Care and survivorship
3 July: The WHO Stakeholders' Webinar series is a virtual platform to convene partners and stakeholders to share learnings from ongoing global partnerships and initiatives, as well as trade insights on integrated approaches to engaging with other thematic areas such as AIDS and SHRH. The virtual platform enables global health experts from the NCD community to engage with and learn from civil society leaders and experts on good practices and emerging issues in community engagement, advocacy and mobilization. The session on 'Pathways to organize a women-centred approach to cancer care and survivorship' highlighted the added value of this approach and how it impacts quality care for various socioeconomic groups. The session included discussions on approaches needed for successful WCC, facilitated an exchange of perspectives with cancer-focused organisations, and explore the potential for coalition building at regional and national level. Recommendations derived from the stakeholder’s dialogues will support the development of an advocacy toolkit for WHO's cancer initiatives, such as on cervical , breast and childhood cancer.
For further information contact BOSOMTWI, Yaa
Learn about cancer detection
Learn about Cancer Detection from the International Agency for Research on Cancer WCR Updates Webinar Series - Liquid Biopsy-Based Biomarkers for Cancer Detection and Monitoring, a webinar recorded on July 12.
For further information contact Veronique Terrasse or the Division of Healthy Environments and Populations
Multilateral development banks and WHO launch new investment platform to strengthen primary health care services
23 June: In a landmark development aimed at investing in and strengthening essential, climate and crisis-resilient primary health care (PHC) services in low- and low-and-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs), three multilateral development banks have joined with WHO to launch the new Health Impact Investment Platform. The Platform, launched during the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in Paris, will make an initial €1.5 billion available to LICs and LMICs in concessional loans and grants to expand the reach and scope of their PHC services, especially for the most vulnerable and underserved populations and communities. WHO will act as the Platform’s policy coordinator, responsible for ensuring alignment of financing decisions with national health priorities and strategies.
For further information contact Paul Garwood
Launch of the WHO guideline on Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing
3 July: The Department of Nutrition and Food Safety at the World Health Organization is launching its new guideline on ‘Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing’. The guideline provides countries with recommendations on measures to restrict food marketing to which children are exposed, including policy design elements to improve the measures’ effectiveness. Children and adolescents continue to be exposed to powerful food marketing in settings where they gather (e.g. schools, sports clubs), or through their favorite media, including television channels and digital spaces. Such marketing predominantly promotes less healthy food options, such as sugar-sweetened beverages, chocolate and confectionery, and uses a wide variety of marketing strategies that are likely to appeal to children, including celebrity/sports endorsements, promotional characters, product claims, gifts/incentives, tie-ins, competitions and games. Such marketing negatively shapes children’s food preferences, their food choice and dietary intake.
See also the UNICEF–WHO toolkit - Taking Action to Protect Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing: A Child Rights-based Approach which aims to guide governments and partners to introduce legal measures that are fit for restricting food marketing to children.
For further information contact the NFS Team
Supporting Jamaica's NCD Response
PAHO Supports the MOHW in Fast-tracking Jamaica's NCD Response
July 7: As Jamaica continues to grapple with the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the population, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), held the Annual NCD and Injury Prevention Review and Conference from June 27–29 at Ocean Eden Bay resort in Trelawny. Held under the theme “Fast-tracking the Response: An NCD Imperative,” this year’s conference provided an opportunity for health professionals, policymakers, academics, and members of civil society to reflect on the progress made, identify challenges and discuss strategies to strengthen the fight against NCDs. Recognizing that people living with NCDs offer invaluable insights in the prevention and management of NCDs, individuals affected by diabetes, hypertension, and breast cancer shared their personal stories, shedding light on the challenges faced from diagnosis to treatment and management and proposing strategies to close current gaps. One of the highlights of the conference was the health regions’ reports and subsequent discussions on the success achieved and the challenges experienced by these regions. Notable achievements were observed in screening for common cancers and implementation of the Chronic Care Model and Jamaica Moves Reloaded.
Details on NCDs in can be found in the NCD portal
For further information contact the PAHO office
Medicines in the Caribbean
Webinar Access to Medicines in the Caribbean: Health financing and pharmaceutical policy challenges in small markets
July 19th @10:00AM EDT: Access to essential medicines is recognized as a fundamental human right by governments worldwide. However, in low- and middle-income countries, including the Caribbean region, millions of people continue to face significant challenges in accessing affordable and quality medicines. These challenges include inadequate financing for healthcare, affordability issues, concerns over the quality and safety of medicines, inappropriate use of essential medicines, weak or limited regulatory systems, and complex procurement and supply chain management processes. These factors constrain the capacity of governments to invest in social programs and agendas. Consequently, many people rely on out-of-pocket payments for healthcare, including medications, creating barriers to access and contributing to inappropriate use of prescription drugs and other medicines.
This webinar will present two reports that review pharmaceutical policy challenges that are crucial for accessing medicines in the Caribbean:
Health Financing and Access to Medicines in the Caribbean, by Dr. Rebecca Hancock-Howard, from University of Toronto Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation
Pharmaceutical cost containment in Small Markets: a review of policy challenges and analysis of existing policy responses, by Erin McConnell, Dr. Warren A. Kaplan, and Dr. Veronika J. Wirtz, from the Department of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health
Following the reports presentation by the authors, there will be discussants that will provide their insights on the findings, following a debate among participants. Details on NCDs in can be found in the NCD portal
For further information contact the PAHO Office
National Institute for Health and Care Research call for applicants
July 5: The National Institute for Health and Care Research launching a seventh Research and Innovation for Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) call that will support targeted research to develop and evaluate interventions for the early detection and management of metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke in primary and community care settings. The NIHR Global Health Research portfolio was established to support applied health research for the direct and primary benefit of people in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) on the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list, using Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the UK government. Researchers in LMIC or UK research institutions or NGOs are eligible to apply, and they are particularly keen to attract applicants from LMICs. The call will close on Wednesday, 11 October 2023, however new users need to be validated to access applications which takes up to 48 hours upon registration. The deadline for RMS registrations is 27 September 2023.
An applicant webinar will take place on Wednesday 2 August 2023 at 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm. Please complete this Google Form to register your attendance. A recording of the webinar will be available on the NIHR YouTube channel. A copy of the slides will be available after the webinar by contacting the Global Health team at right@nihr.ac.uk.
For further information contact the Global Health Team
UN NCD Task Force's annual report
2023 report to ECOSOC marks the 10-year anniversary of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs
The UN NCD Task Force's annual report to the United Nations Economic and Social Council was released on 15 June 2023. This year the report takes a look back at the work of the Task Force over the last 10 years, since its establishment by the UN Secretary-General in June 2013. Over the last 10 years, the Task Force, which is led by WHO and has 45 members, has provided political and technical support, as well as advocacy for NCDs and mental health to over 50 Member States. In 2021 three members of the Task Force, WHO, UNDP and UNICEF established the United Nations Health4Life Fund to support governments scale up their action on NCDs and mental health.
The Task Force has over the 10 years demonstrated considerable impact in supporting countries scale up multi-sectoral, whole-of-government, whole-of-society action.
For further information contact PUTOUD, Nadia or Dr Alexey Kulikov
Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health
5-7 July: The Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health defined the future environment and health priorities and commitments for the WHO European Region, with a focus on addressing the health dimensions of the triple environmental crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. The Conference will took into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunities for a healthy recovery on the path towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Budapest Declaration
Countries of the WHO European Region adopted the Budapest Declaration, pushing action to enhance environment and health. The declaration prioritizes urgent, wide-ranging action on health challenges related to climate change, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss and land degradation, along with, and in the context of, recovery from COVID-19. To strengthen countries’ capacities to fulfil commitments made under the Declaration, it also focuses on strengthening governance, investing in human resources, and advancing knowledge and tools for action.
Read more publications related to this topic from the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health with publications from Ostrava to Budapest.
For further information contact Nino BERDZULI and the Hungary Office
WHO Director-General Remarks
Weekly Press Conference – 21 June
21 June: The Director-General of WHO spoke on NCDs at the weekly Press Conference, focusing on the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Ministerial Conference in Barbados and the fact that NCDs are responsible more of 70 percent of deaths globally with nowhere more accurately than in small island countries, while calling on all leaders and partners to extend their support to SIDS.
Details on NCDs in SIDS can be found in the SIDS NCD Data Portal
For further information contact the Director-General
WHO sessions at the International Health Economics Association Conference 2023
8 – 12 July: The 15th IHEA World Congress on Health Economics was held in Cape Town, South Africa from July 8-12, 2023. The IHEA Congress, held every second year, is the only global forum for health economists to engage around the latest research developments and explore the implications of this research for health policy and practice. This year’s event theme was ‘Diversity in Health Economics’.
For further information contact the IHEA Team
Third Steering Committee: Public Health and Emergency Workforce Roadmap
6 – 7 July Italy: The 2021 Declaration of the G-20 Health Ministers, under the Italian G-20 presidency, recognized clearly the "importance of investing in and protecting an adequate and well-trained health workforce and community-based health services, addressing a global shortage, increasing productive capacities to meet needs in the face of health risks and emergencies as well as insufficient human resource capacity at national and local levels." Health ministers committed to prioritizing investment in public health systems and services to advance health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
For further information contact the Health Workforce Team
#LearningSavesLives: OpenWHO stories from across the globe
12 – 13 July: An online exhibition and experience-sharing event showcasing how learners have used WHO’s free OpenWHO.org learning platform to protect public health in their communities. In February 2023, OpenWHO issued a Call for Abstracts describing how the learning platform has been used in local, national or regional contexts, or how learning content has been adapted for use outside the platform. Visit the event page to browse the session topics, access social media materials to help spread the word and more.
For further information contact the OpenWHO team
Please send your updates for inclusion in the next edition of the NCDs Newsflash: kennedyan@who.int
