Chair,

Director-General,

Members of the Executive Board,

Colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States on Agenda items 7 B, C, E & I

The Candidate Countries the Republic of North Macedonia[1], Montenegro[1] and Albania[1], the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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 and its MS welcome the setting of ambitious targets to be achieved by the end of 2030 to better detect and manage all types of diabetes.

We wish to emphasize that strategies to address diabetes and improve oral health must pay critical attention to the essential component of health promotion and in particular to the prevention of overweight and obesity and the promotion and adoption of healthy diet.

The dramatic increasing incidences of type 2 diabetes globally   follows similar increases in overweight and obesity. It is therefore essential that diabetes and obesity prevention and management policies are developed and implemented correspondingly. We encourage WHO to reinforce a holistic approach and to make sure that NCD management, including oral health 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.

Poor oral health affects general and mental health, well-being, and quality of life.

The EU and its MS welcomes that the WHO global oral health strategy supports and promotes the urgent move from treatment-focused services to a long-awaited preventive approach.

An integration of oral health care services with primary health services is central to the success of the oral care strategy and is crucial to address oral diseases and oral cancer worldwide.

The EU and its member states are ready to help WHO to bring the Global strategy forward. However, central leadership and a surveillance and monitoring framework for tracking progress with clear measurable targets, will be crucial to achieve success.

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  as such we remain fully  committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), in this context. 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.  HPV is also a major risk factor in oral cancers globally

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.

I thank you.

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