<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Sangeeta</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ssangeeta@myjaring.net">ssangeeta@myjaring.net</a>></span><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0px"><b>From: </b>TWN News <<a href="mailto:news@twnnews.net" target="_blank">news@twnnews.net</a>></span></font></div>
<div><font face="Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Third World Network</span><br><a href="http://www.twnside.org.sg" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12px; ">www.twnside.org.sg</a><br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">
</span><br>
<b style="font-size: 12px; ">WHO: Spotlight on non-communicable diseases prevention and control<br>
Published in SUNS #7157 dated 25 May 2011<br>
</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"> </span><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Geneva, 24 May (K. M. Gopakumar and Chiara Bodini*) -- Many developing countries stress the importance of access to medicines and of addressing the social determinants of health in order to prevent and control non-communicable diseases.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
This took place at the 64th World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva on 16-24 May, during a discussion on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that considered the WHO Secretariat report on the matter and a draft resolution sponsored by 61 Member States including EU member countries.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The Secretariat's report (document A64/21) deals with WHO's role in the preparation, implementation and follow-up to the high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs to be held in September 2011.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The topic of NCDs has special prominence at this year's WHA because of the high-level meeting (HLM) where Heads of State and Government are expected to participate.</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
This flows from the UN General Assembly Resolution 64/265 adopted in May 2010 which in its preamble reaffirms "the need for international cooperation in the area of public health through the exchange of best practices aimed at building capacity at the public health system, providing financial assistance, the production of and increased access to affordable, safe, effective and high quality medicines, the training, recruitment and retention of pubic health personnel, the development of infrastructure and the transfer of technology".</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Many Member States, in their interventions during the 21 May WHA discussion, underscored the strong link between NCDs and development, and stressed the need to address the social determinants of health (SDH) as well as to take measures to improve access to affordable medicines, to effectively combat NCDs. Interventions also called for more funding and political commitment, better private sector regulation and policy-making free of conflict of interests. Several Member States also supported the inclusion of mental health in the context of NCDs.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
A resolution was finally adopted by the WHA focusing on the role of WHO in the preparation of the September HLM. This was agreed to by an informal working group that met on the margins of the WHA to reshape the content of the draft resolution submitted by some countries in January to the WHO Executive Board.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The resolution endorses the Moscow Declaration (outcome of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-communicable Disease Control held in Moscow on 28-29 April 2011), which is annexed to the resolution, as a key input for the preparations leading to the HLM. It urges Member States to continue to support the preparations at national, regional and international levels for the HLM, including situation analyses of NCDs and their risk factors as well as an assessment of national capacity and health systems' response to address NCDs.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
It also urges Member States to be represented at the level of Heads of State and Government at the HLM and reiterates the UN General Assembly (UNGA) call for action through an action-oriented outcome document. It also urges Member States to consider as appropriate and relevant to include representatives of civil society, non-governmental organisations, academia and networks working on the control and prevention of NCDs.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The resolution requests the WHO Director-General (DG, Dr Margaret Chan) to continue her existing lead role to coordinate UN specialised agencies, funds and programmes, other relevant intergovernmental agencies to support Member States. This would include undertaking concerted action and coordinating responses in order to promptly and appropriately address the challenges posed by NCDs, including further building up of situation analyses on NCDs and risk factors as well as highlighting the social and economic impact of NCDs, including financial challenges, in particular in developing countries.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
It also requests the DG to prepare a report on the outcome of the Moscow ministerial conference and the September HLM for the 65th WHA session in 2012; and to develop an implementation and follow-up plan for the outcomes including the financial implications for submission to the 65th WHA.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The resolution also requests the UN Secretary-General to submit a global status report on NCDs with a particular focus on the developmental challenges faced by developing countries, to the GA at its 65th session in collaboration with Member States, WHO and other relevant funds, programmes and specialised agencies of the UN system.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Further to the May 2010 Resolution, the GA passed another resolution (65/238) inviting the WHO to hold regional multi-sectoral consultations in cooperation with regional commissions and other relevant agencies to provide input to the preparatory process for the HLM.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Pursuant to this key role, WHO has organized regional consultations as well as the Moscow ministerial conference.</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The Moscow Declaration states that, in order to secure an ambitious and sustainable outcome, "we commit to actively engage with all relevant sectors of Government, on the basis of this Moscow Declaration, in the preparation of and the follow-up to the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs in September 2011 in New York". The Declaration sets out actions at three levels: the whole governmental, the ministry of health level and the international level.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Forty-seven Member States, 16 intergovernmental organisation and NGOs participated in the NCDs discussion on 21 May. The Secretariat, in its opening remarks, said that the role of WHO is to provide evidence-based solutions and also to have a key role in implementation of outcomes of the HLM.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">Consumers International said that it is essential that while action is stepped up to address NCDs, care is taken to increase consumer protection and avoid giving the for-profit sector unprecedented opportunities to influence policies. The effect of insufficient vigilance will be felt most keenly in food-related NCDs - where Member States urgently need encouragement to take effective legislative action to control harmful food marketing. It also strongly urged that the critically important role of marketing controls and the protection of breastfeeding and optimal complementary feeding is recognized as an integral component of WHO's NCD strategy.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Medicus Mundi International said that "it is disappointing that there is no reference to the work of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) in the Secretariat report. Unhealthy behaviors do play an important role in determining NCDs, however there are structural determinants like education, income, gender and ethnicity which are underlying causes of NCDs and behavioral risk factors. It stressed the importance of equity dimensions of NCDs as emphasized by CSDH and that these are closely linked to the social and environmental factors; not just individual behaviors. Therefore, if the UNGA is to provide an action-oriented outcome document preventive measures for social and environmental factors must be included.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
It also urged Member States to address the access to affordable treatment for NCDs by clearly spelling out the response of the Member States and WHO to initiate law and policy measures to ensure access to affordable diagnostic tools and treatment, in particular the full use of the flexibilities of TRIPS. It is also important to curb the practices of other industries which contribute to the prevalence of NCDs such as food and agricultural corporations. Therefore, it called for development of a code of conduct to regulate their advertisement and promotion of products.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Corporate Accountability International asked Member States to apply the safeguards in Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control creating clear and enforceable standards in relation to water, public health and nutrition. These measures must go beyond individual conflicts of interest, and address institutional conflicts of interest.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
The Secretariat, in reply to the discussion, stated that mental health is a major issue and lacks appropriate intervention in many countries. It stressed the need to address the five building blocks of health systems and hoped that such an approach would in turn also help to address mental health. It also recalled that mental health is highlighted in the global status report on NCDs.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
Regarding conflict of interest, the Secretariat stated that the WHO Guideline on working with the private sector would guide its work. Further, the DG called upon Member States to take a stand against the pressurising tactics of tobacco companies against the implementation of the framework convention.</font><br>
<font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font><br><font class="Apple-style-span" size="1">
(* K. M. Gopakumar is a senior researcher with Third World Network and Dr. Chiara Bodini is a public health expert from the Centre for International Health, University of Bologna.) +<br>
</font><br>
<br>
<br>
</font><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4">
</font></div>
</div><br>