Noncommunicable diseases: scaling up implementation of the Political Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly

Resolution REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE EM/RC61/R.3 EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN October 2014 Sixty-first Session Agenda item 5(a) Noncommunicable diseases: scaling up implementation of the Political Declaration of the United Nations General Assembly The Regional Committee, Having reviewed the technical paper on the implementation of the political declaration of the United Nations General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and follow-up on the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, held in July 2014; 1 Recalling United Nations resolution 66/2 on the political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, and resolution EM/RC59/R.2 on the commitments of Member States to implement the political declaration based on a regional framework for action; Recalling also Regional Committee resolution EM/RC60/R.4 which requested the Regional Director to update the regional framework for action and develop process indicators; Cognizant that the roadmap of commitments from Heads of State and Government included in the 2011 political declaration, based on the pillars set out in the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2000,2 continues to guide national policy on noncommunicable diseases; Further recalling United Nations resolution A/RES/68/300 on the outcome document of the 2014 high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, which prioritizes a set of time-bound commitments from Member States to be implemented between 2014 and 2018,3 and in particular to consider, by 2015, setting national targets for 2025, taking into account the nine voluntary global targets for noncommunicable diseases;4 1 EM/RC61/5 Rev.1 2 Resolution WHA53.17 3 In accordance with paragraph 30 of resolution A/RES/68/300 4 In accordance with paragraph 30(a)(i) of resolution A/RES/68/300 ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA SANTE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EM/RC61/R.3 Concerned by the absence, in the outcome document, of an accountability and monitoring component and a set of process indicators, amenable to application across country settings, to assess the progress made at country level in the implementation of the roadmap of commitments included in the political declaration, which would enable the United Nations Secretary-General and the WHO Director-General to report in 2017 to the General Assembly on the progress made in implementing the political declaration and outcome document; Recognizing that progress in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases has been insufficient and highly uneven, due in part to their complexity and challenging nature, and that continued and increased efforts are essential for achieving a world free of the avoidable burden of noncommunicable diseases;5 Welcoming the continued efforts of the Regional Director to raise global and regional awareness of the magnitude of the problem and to strengthen global action against noncommunicable diseases; 1. ENDORSES the updated regional framework for action (annexed to this resolution) on the commitments of Member States to implement the roadmap of commitments from Heads of State and Government included in the political declaration; 2. URGES Member States to: 2.1 Move from commitment to action through accelerating and scaling up implementation of the strategic interventions in the updated regional framework for action; 2.2 Implement the WHO recommendations on marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children; 2.3 Support the Regional Director’s initiative to protect public health and promote healthy lifestyles, with a special focus on countering the largely unopposed commercial practices that promote unhealthy products, particularly those targeting children; 2.4 Encourage and enhance people’s involvement in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, with a view to promoting self-care; 3. REQUESTS the Executive Board at its 136th session to invite the Director-General to develop a set of process indicators, for consideration by the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly, to assess the progress made at national level in the implementation of the Political Declaration, which would enable the United Nations Secretary-General and the Director-General to report in 2017 to the high-level meeting of the General Assembly in 2018 on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases; 4. REQUESTS the Regional Director to: 4.1 Convene a side-event at the 136th session of the Executive Board, as well as the Sixty-eighth World Health Assembly, to brief Member States on the updated framework for action and process indicators adopted by the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean at its Sixty-first session; 4.2 Support Member States to carry out detailed assessment of their progress in implementing the commitments in the updated regional framework for action and to address gaps identified in the assessment; 5 In accordance with paragraph 13 of resolution A/RES/68/300 2 EM/RC61/R.3 4.3 Establish mechanisms for continuing exchange of experiences and good practices between countries; 4.4 Support Member States in their preparations for the second comprehensive review by the General Assembly in 2018, including in the generation and tracking of data on process indicators and in the development and implementation of country roadmaps; 4.5 Report to the Regional Committee at its Sixty-second, Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth sessions on the progress of Member States in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, based on the process indicators. 3 Commitments Strategic interventions Process indicators In the area of governance Each country is expected to: • Integrate noncommunicable diseases into national policies and development plans • By 2015, establish a multisectoral strategy/plan and a set of national targets and indicators for 2025 based on national situation and WHO guidance • Increase budgetary allocations for noncommunicable disease prevention and control including through innovative financing mechanisms, such as taxation of tobacco, alcohol and other unhealthy products • Periodically assess national capacity for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases using WHO tools Country has: • An operational multisectoral national strategy/action plan that integrates the major noncommunicable diseases and their shared risk factors • Set time-bound national targets and indicators based on WHO guidance • A high-level national multisectoral commission, agency or mechanism to oversee engagement, policy coherence and accountability of sectors beyond health • Increased budgetary allocations measured by tracking and reporting on health expenditures on prevention and control of major noncommunicable diseases, by source, per capita Commitments Strategic interventions Process indicators In the area of prevention and reduction of risk factors Each country is expected to: • Accelerate implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and ratify Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products • Ensure healthy nutrition in early life and childhood including breastfeeding promotion and regulating marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children • Reduce average population salt intake per WHO recommendations • Virtually eliminate trans-fat intake and reduce intake of saturated fatty acids • Promote physical activity through a life-course approach • Implement the best buys to reduce the harmful use of alcohol Country is implementing: • At least three of the six demand-reduction measures (MPOWER) in the WHO FCTC • WHO International Code for Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes • WHO recommendations on marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children • Measures to reduce salt content in at least one highly-consumed food item • Regulatory measures to eliminate industrially produced trans-fat in the food supply and to replace saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids in food products • Public awareness campaigns through mass media on diet and physical activity Commitments Strategic interventions Process indicators In the area of surveillance, monitoring and evaluation Each country is expected to: • Implement/strengthen the WHO surveillance framework that monitors mortality and morbidity, risk factors and determinants, and health system capacity and response • Integrate the three components of the surveillance framework into the national health information system • Strengthen human resources and institutional capacity for surveillance, monitoring and evaluation Country has: • A functioning system for generating reliable cause-specific mortality data on a routine basis • An operational population-based cancer registry • A STEPS survey or a comprehensive health examination survey every 5 years • A framework to monitor effective coverage of hypertension and diabetes treatment Commitments Strategic interventions Process indicators In the area of health care Each country is expected to: • Implement the best buys in health care • Improve access to early detection and management of major noncommunicable diseases and risk factors by including them in the essential primary health care package • Improve access to safe, affordable and quality essential medicines and technologies for major noncommunicable diseases • Improve access to essential palliative care services Country has: • Provision of drug therapy, including glycaemic control, and counselling for eligible persons at high risk to prevent cardiovascular events • Government approved evidence-based guidelines/protocols for early detection and management of major noncommunicable diseases through a primary care approach • Availability of essential medicines and technologies for major noncommunicable diseases and risk factors in public primary health care facilities Framework for action to implement the United Nations Political Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases, including indicators to assess country progress by 2018 Updated October 2014, based on resolutions EM/RC59/R.2 & EM/RC60/R.4. Annex to resolution EM/RC61/R.3 Note: WHO tools are available to support implementation of the strategic interventions