The High Level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will publish a draft April 16th, 2018, which will outline recommendations on public policies for a greater control of NCDs. From that date until April 20th, the draft will be put up for public consultation. Subsequently, the Commissioners will discuss the comments received at a new meeting, May 7th, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. The final report will be published June 1st and will serve as the basis for the WHO 3rd high-level meeting on NCDs September 27th, in New York.

The document will recommended several strategies for governments and international organizations to protect the most vulnerable populations from NCDs. Among them, the report will emphasize investment in health systems to guarantee universal health coverage, as favoured by the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, and the Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Both public officials believe that health is a fundamental human right and that governments are not doing enough to ensure the well-being of their populations.

In addition, the report will discuss on bridges between the national and international levels: on the one hand, governments will carry out public policies; on the other, international organizations will collaborate with financing.

The draft, which will be the result of the work between the High Level Commission and a technical consultation working group, will be published April 16th. Between that date and April 20th, the document will be in public consultation, so it can be modified. On May 7th, the High Level Commission will analyze the changes and draft the final report, which will be published June 1st. Furthermore, the report will be discussed at the WHO 3rd high-level meeting on NCDs, which will be held September 27th, in New York.