On March 1, the UN Secretary General released a report on the progress of the prevention and control of Non-
Communicable Diseases.
It’s a vital document and a sobering read for those working to prevent stroke and
other NCDs. You don’t need to read too hard between the lines to perceive the
frustration and mounting impatience over lack of substantive progress in the
seven years that have passed since governments first committed to address one
of the ‘major challenges for development in the twenty-first century’.
The report highlights
that 138 governments have demonstrated ‘very poor or no progress towards their
time bound commitments’, the Secretary General notes noting that ‘the world has
yet to fulfil its promise of implementing measures to risk the risk of dying prematurely
from non-communicable diseases.’
The disproportionate
burden experienced by low income countries is highlighted with key reasons for
the poor and patchy progress identified as economic and trade promotion
interests (often backed by governments). A significant challenge has been the active
interference in policy by global industrial actors, working to undermine taxation
and marketing restrictions on tobacco, alcohol and sugar. Taxation of harmful
products has been put forward as a public health ‘best buy’ for governments, as
it not only helps to reduce demand but also generates funds that can be used to
prevent and address NCDs.
A lack of financial
and technical support has also put a hard brake on progress. According to the
report ‘despite the modest financing requirements and the cost-effectiveness of
interventions’ domestic and international development funding is still ‘grossly
insufficient in developing countries’.
The Secretary General concludes
by calling for the development of an ‘innovative way of finding new development
pathways that effectively address impediments and at the same time encourage
creativity and innovation’.
The report is intended
to form a backdrop to consultations in advance of a UN High Level Meeting on
NCDs in New York later this year. The NCD Alliance, of which WSO is a member,
wants to make sure that timing, participation and civil-society engagement in
the high level meeting is optimized to ensure government commitment at the highest level. The WSO
supports their call for the meeting to be
-
Timed to coincide
with the UN General Assembly and back to back with the UN High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis to
reinforce a coordinated ‘OneHealth’ approach:
- attended by heads of state and health ministers to ensure commitment at the highest political level
- informed by a preceding global civil society engagement process including a UN Civil Society Task force and an Interactive Hearing no later than June 2018
- focused on delivery of an action-oriented outcome document with time bound commitments including boosted investment and accelerated implementation of ‘best buys’ free from commercial interests.
The World Stroke Organization will be
working with the NCD Alliance, and our other partners to ensure that the
voices of the stroke community are heard in civil society consultations and in
negotiations.
Werner Hacke, President, WSO
Bo Norrving, Chair Global Policy Committee, WSO
Michael Brainin, President Elect, WSO
