In her opening address to the 65th World Health Assembly (WHA), Margaret Chan identified non-communicable diseases as one of the major global health priorities which would cast a long shadow for the foreseeable future. These diseases, which include heart disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, are being driven by the global spread of unhealthy food, alcohol and tobacco products, changing environments leading to declining physical activity levels, as well as population ageing.
The WHA was attended by some 4,000 participants including country delegations led by ministers of health, civil society and NGO representatives, and journalists and industry representatives with an interest in global health. Representatives from the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN) joined forces with representatives from the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), NCD Action Network, and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM).
Global NCD mortality target adopted, consensus needed on how to achieve it
Among key developments at the WHA was the adoption by member states of a global target of “a 25% reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025”. The big challenge for NCDs will be how to achieve this global mortality target and associated goals. Options for strengthening and facilitating mutisectorial action on NCDs were discussed and some key conclusions were reached:
?NCDs are underpinned by complex drivers, and as such, multiple mechanisms will be needed to address them.
?The nature of the mechanisms should be determined by the function, i.e. what they want to achieve, as opposed to the structure.
?In line with the agreed principles for WHO reform (paper A65/5) the private sector cannot be involved in policy development, strategy development, norms or standards setting.
?Where possible, NCDs should be incorporated into and build on existing mechanisms.
Strong support for comprehensive nutrition plan to address over and undernutrition
Modi Mwatsama, a leader of YP-CDN, delivered a statement on behalf of several leading global NGOs concerned with the prevention of NCDs. This statement outlined key actions member states should take to address poor nutrition as a major determinant of NCDs, including: the development of comprehensive nutrition policies to address under- and overnutrition, introducing fiscal and regulatory measures to improve access to healthy foods, and protecting nutrition policy from commercially vested interests.
Where next for the global NCDs agenda? What are the challenges?
In the short term, the two looming deadlines for the NCD agenda are for the WHO to:
1.Submit options for mutisectorial coordinating mechanisms on NCDs, and
2.Develop the comprehensive monitoring framework and targets.
In the longer term, an on-going challenge for the NCD prevention agenda will continue to be how to ensure that effective and cost-effective fiscal and regulatory interventions to address unhealthy diets and alcohol are introduced at the national and global levels.
YP-CDN members should use their networks to advocate for evidence-based recommendations for the coordinating mechanism, and ensure that a comprehensive framework and targets for NCDs is developed. This could involve inputting to or disseminating evidence-based positions developed by NGOs and academia to their national health ministers and ambassadors based in Geneva, as they emerge. Members should also consider how to best address the role of industry in efforts to tackle NCDs – are framework convention models, such as the framework convention on tobacco control, the answer? Or will new models be necessary? As leaders who are going to be around for the long-haul, YP-CDN members will have some interesting challenges to solve.
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Website: globalhealthdelivery.org/2012/06/whats-next-for-ncds-yp-cdn-leaders-reflect-on-wha-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm;_medium=feed&utm;_campaign=Feed%3A+GlobalHealthDeliveryInitiative+%28Global+Health+Delivery+Initiative%29&utm;_content=Google+Reade