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

a) Draft implementation road map 2023– 2030 for the global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2030

(d) Draft recommendations on how to strengthen the design and implementation of policies, including those for resilient health systems and health services and infrastructure, to treat people living with noncommunicable diseases and to prevent and control their risk factors in humanitarian emergencies

(f) Progress achieved in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health

(j) Draft workplan for the global coordination mechanism on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases

Chair,

Director General,

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

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

The Candidate Countries Turkey, 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 and the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this statement.

We thank the Director General and WHO for their leadership and commend the Secretariat for the comprehensive recommendations and reports on NCDs and mental health. 

The EU welcomes the guidance provided in the NCD-GAP. Challenges related to NCDs and mental health require urgent action, sustained awareness, financing and mobilization of a wide range of stakeholders, facilitated by the Global Coordination Mechanism.

The growing prevalence of NCDs continues to affect people of all ages all around the world, and particularly those in the most vulnerable situations. Failing to address NCDs is already placing a heavy burden on future generations, on health and on state budgets.

We need to scale up. Effective programs should be based on a Health in All Policies approach and address socioeconomic aspects of illness and health equity. The implementation road map is a constructive basis for such work. But it should further consider the effects of climate change and environmental factors, as they are also determinants of NCDs.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its response have also caused widespread adversity and distress. It is regrettable that the prevention, care and treatment of NCDs have suffered disruption during the pandemic, causing even greater inequalities in health. To reduce these inequalities and to improve pandemic preparedness and leave no one behind, we must scale up disease prevention, control NCDs and prioritize health promotion as well as patient-centered education, early detection and diagnosis and treatment of highest standards, including transplantation, as a continuum of care, and relying on reinforced primary health care systems.

Health promotion includes empowering people to increase control over their health and its determinants by addressing risk factors such as harmful use of alcohol, tobacco and other addictive substances and processes use, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. WHO-Europe has also recognized that digital environments, as illustrated during lockdowns have become a determinant of health and should be better regulated.

In times of pandemics like COVID-19 as well as in humanitarian emergencies, conflicts and war contexts like in Ukraine, it is essential to pursue treatment of people living with NCDs and prevention of their risk factors. Countries are relying on WHO’s support. It is critical that NCD preparedness and response become a part of any emergency response in order to preserve essential health service delivery at any time, through a multisectoral approach.

Mental disorders and NCDs exacerbate vulnerabilities among affected people. They constitute one of the most neglected areas of public health and we must treat this as a matter of urgency, adopting a holistic approach to prevent mental disorders and promoting care for mental health and well-being. The right to the highest attainable standard of mental health free of stigma and discrimination is a fundamental human right. Therefore, it is crucial that services are gradually reorganized and oriented towards care in the community, based on countries’ respective needs and priorities in particular during and after conflict. WHO Europe launched the flagship initiative, Pan-European Mental Health Coalition. We believe it serves as a key regional initiative in achieving the mental health action plan 2013-2030.

We once again call for Member States and WHO to keep mental health on the agenda and mainstream this question in its discussions, including by making it a stand-alone item at future Governing Body meetings.

Thank you, Chair.

 


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