Nutrition

Non-communicable diseases. The Independent Global High-Level Commission on Non-communicable Diseases met March 2nd online to discuss it’s agenda. The members emphasized the need that governments adopt effective measures against NCDs. The first draft, which will contain recommedations on public policies and detailes of the latest advances in technology for the treatment of NCDs, will be published April 1st. Among the 25 members are the Latin Americans Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay and co-chairman of the Commission; Adolfo Rubinstein, Minister of Health of Argentina; Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile; and José Narro Nobles, Minister of Health of Mexico.

The participants concluded that the guidelines set in the 2011 United Nations Political Declaration on NCDs are key to prevent and treat NCDs more efficiently. Also, they stressed that countries should allocate more resources to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030 and promote mental health and well-being, as one of the Sustainable Development Goals establishes.

In addition, the commissioners emphasized that the Third United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs, which will take place in the second semester of 2018, is the perfect opportunity for governments to discuss and agree on new ways of tackling those diseases.

The main mission of the Commission, formally established last month by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is to write a report that will be published in June 2018. The document will contain different options of financing, analysis and public policy recommendations against NCDs for the countries member of the organization. Also, advances in technology for the prevention and control of these diseases will be detailed.

Next steps

The Commission will publish a draft on the progress made April 1st. There will be a new meeting May 7th in Geneva. The report will be published June 1st.