WHO - 75th World Health Assembly - EU Statement: Item 14.1: Follow-up to the political declaration of the third high- level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases

Chair,

Director General,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries the Republic of North Macedonia[*], Montenegro* and Albania*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

•        On the centenary of the discovery of insulin, the EU welcomes the setting of ambitious targets to be achieved by the end of 2030 to better detect and manage all types of diabetes.

•        The EU wishes to emphasize that strategies to address diabetes must pay critical attention the essential component of health promotion and in particular the prevention of overweight and obesity and the promotion and adoption of sustainable healthy diets

•        The dramatic increasing incidences of type 2 diabetes globally follows the increases in overweight and obesity. It is thus essential that diabetes and obesity prevention and management policies are developed and implemented side by side. We encourage WHO to reinforce a holistic approach and to make sure NCD management and NCD determinants and risk factors are addressed collectively.

•        The comprehensive recommendations on obesity and diabetes are very timely. We request the Secretariat to complement the recommendations with an acceleration plan that clarifies how the secretariat will support Member States in the implementation of the recommendations based on individual countries’ needs and priorities and how that will reported.

•        The WHO global oral health strategy is timely in its focus on access to universal oral health care to help address inequalities. The provision of oral health care should be considered an essential service including during pandemics and other health emergencies.

•        Knowing that most of the oral diseases and poor oral conditions are preventable, the EU welcomes the strategy, which supports and promotes the reorientation from a treatment focus to a preventive approach, aligned with the approach for other NCDS. An integration of oral health services with primary health services is central to the success of the WHO strategy.

•        The EU and its member states are ready, to help the WHO to implement the Global strategy. However, central leadership to support the member states will be crucial to achieve success.

•        The EU requests an action plan that is cognizant of and addresses regional diversities of workforce, education and burdens of oral disease. It must also address the health determinants of tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy diet that are common to many NCDs.

•        A surveillance and monitoring framework for tracking progress with clear measurable targets is essential to measure the success of the WHO global oral health strategy.

•        The EU and its Member States welcome the report on the progress in the implementation of the global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem.

•        The EU remains committed to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of all human rights and to the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the outcomes of their review conferences and as such we remain fully committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in this context.

•        Having that in mind, the EU reaffirms its commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right of every individual to have full control over, and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality and sexual and reproductive health, free from discrimination, coercion and violence. We further stress the need for universal access to quality, affordable and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information, including comprehensive sexuality education and health-care services.

•        We also remain committed to the access to condoms as a multi-purpose prevention technology, and to the ramping up of HPV vaccine production to enable the world to aspire to vaccinate not only girls but also boys, and to eventually, reach national and global herd immunity against this affliction.

•        We emphasise the importance of access to testing and treatment of cervical cancer and asks the Secretariat to provide further support to countries through the WHO Regional and Country Offices

[*] The Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.