3.2.2 Multisectoral determinants and risk factors addressed through engagement with public and private sectors, as well as civil society

Scorecard

Regarding Output 3.2.2, the Secretariat delivered efficiently and satisfactorily in terms of the leadership, technical support and value-for-money dimensions. Roles and responsibilities associated with the global public health goods need to be delineated more clearly to further their selection and uptake. More effort should be put into integrating gender, equity and human rights more closely in the work contributing to the output.

Achievements and challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected service delivery in all countries, with many WHO and ministry of health staff members repurposed, and resources redirected. However, work under this output saw substantial progress in 2020 through ingenuity and a willingness to be flexible in modalities of working and agile in planning.

In the African Region, five countries were supported to develop and implement technical packages to address adjustable risk factors through multisectoral action, and three others to address these risk factors through engagement with the public and private sectors as well as civil society. The regional strategy to reduce the double burden of malnutrition was published and endorsed by key partners including UNICEF, Hellen Keller International, Nutrition International, the East, Central and Southern African Health Community and the Southern African Development Community. The need to broadcast messages and involve communities during the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased engagement with the public sector (including different government ministries and agencies) as well as the private sector (for example, banks, civil society organizations and mobile phone companies and journalists). WHO also assisted Uganda to introduce digital tax stamps on tobacco products and alcohol.

In the Region of the Americas, Mexico implemented front-of-package labelling on food products to discourage the consumption of processed or ultra-processed products, and the Argentine senate approved a bill in late 2020 which set out the highest recommended standards for such labelling. The Regional Office for the Americas worked with partners to provide technical support and advocacy for these policy advancements.

In the European Region, WHO provided technical support and capacity building in the areas of childhood obesity, salt reduction and alcohol policies for eastern and central Europe through several workshops for public health stakeholders, health care professionals and national focal points. To further advance multisectoral health action, WHO worked with various partners: the European Union on physical activity promotion; the Eurasian Economic Union on trans fatty acids; the European Heart Network on salt reduction and how unhealthy products are marketed to children; and the Health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA Europe) network on physical activity. Recognizing the need for intersectoral collaboration to strengthen the continuity of care between the criminal justice system and national health systems, WHO Europe released Leaving no one behind in prison health: the Helsinki conclusions and a policy brief Organizational models of prison health: considerations for better governance.

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, WHO worked on strengthening participatory actions and continued to provide technical support, guidance and advocacy: in Qatar, for instance, WHO supported health promotion multisectoral work and technical guidance for input from the ministry of public health to the FIFA 2022 legacy to keep the focus on the health promotion aspects of the event. Support was also provided to Kuwait to levy a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

In the South-East Asia Region, WHO supported development of a national multisectoral action plan for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases through a national and subnational consultative process. The plan addresses multisectoral coordination, governance and health promotion, as well as strategies for health system strengthening, surveillance and research on noncommunicable diseases and risk factors. A health impact assessment was conducted concurrently in order to align the plan to national needs and capacities.

In the Western Pacific Region, WHO provided technical support, guidance and advocacy in the prevention of noncommunicable diseases that led to country-level progress, including the development of the second Brunei Darussalam multisectoral action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (2020–2025); implementation of the monitoring and evaluation framework of the Cambodian National multisectoral action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2018–2027; cancer registry training sessions for national experts in Lao People’s Democratic Republic; estimation and projection of direct healthcare costs and expenditure for noncommunicable diseases in Malaysia; and a review of services for noncommunicable disease management to identify areas where adherence to guidelines is weak and needs strengthening in Tuvalu. In the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands, WHO supported the ministries of health to develop advocacy materials for reducing alcohol availability and advertising.

Headquarters mounted advocacy campaigns with countries to ensure that private sector enterprises manufacturing smartphones are aware of WHO-ITU global standards for safe listening devices, which have subsequently been adopted by many of them. WHO stepped up its multisectoral physical activity actions by holding further dialogues with partners, especially sports industry representatives, sports associations and international organizations such as the International Olympic Committee and FIFA. With input from these partners, the Secretariat has developed a sports register, to which they can offer in-kind and non-branded contributions to foster physical activity as a global public health good. WHO has also worked more closely with the media and digital industry to develop an artificial intelligence programme to help smokers who wish to quit. In its work on health taxes, the Secretariat  is aiming to better coordinate the analysis of country experience and provide technical assistance to countries in health governance and financing, nutrition, environment, and management of noncommunicable diseases and risk factors by establishing an interagency working group along with its key international partners (IMF, World Bank, OECD, GFATM and the Gavi Alliance).