Nutrition

Non-communicable diseases. The high level commission on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) of the World Health Organization (WHO) will publish a draft May 9th, 2018. The document will contain recommendations on public policies for greater control of NCDs. From that date until May 16th, the draft will be put up for public consultation. 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 publication of the draft was originally scheduled for April 16th. However, it was postponed because the members of the Commission have not yet finished writing the document.

The document will recommend various strategies to governments and international organizations to protect the most vulnerable sectors of NCDs. Among them, the report will emphasize investment in health systems to guarantee universal coverage, as required 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 population.

Next steps
The draft, which will be the result of the work of the high level commission and a technical consultation working group, will be published May 9th. Between that date and May 16th, the document will be in public consultation, so it can be modified. The WHO will publish the final report June 1st. Subsequently, the document will be used at the WHO 3rd high-level meeting on NCDs, which will take place September 27th in New York.