3.3.2 Global and regional governance mechanisms used to address health determinants and multisectoral risks

Scorecard

In assessing this output, the output delivery team recognized that more work is needed to implement the gender, equity and human rights dimension, especially in equity and capacity building. The Secretariat scored satisfactorily on the leadership, technical support and value-for-money dimensions despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Regarding global public health goods, work continues and further alignment between offices is needed to ensure that future goods produced are fully realized.

Achievements and challenges

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape and ways of working, the Secretariat made substantial strides towards delivering Output 3.3.2.

In the African Region, WHO supported Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Senegal to improve their national Codex Alimentarius, which included developing procedural manuals and advocacy tools. In Burkina Faso and Guinea, inventory and gap analyses of national food standards and their effective use were also conducted. A training exercise on how to prepare robust applications to the Trust Fund for 27 eligible countries was held by WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Canadian Council on Africa and Codex Trust Fund Secretariat. In the area of tobacco control, WHO supported the African Region bureau members and regional coordinators to organize their conference and meeting of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

In the Region of the Americas, WHO support led to approval of a regional plan on trans fatty acids and the incorporation of school nutrition in the Inter-American education commission of the Organization of American States. Guidance for implementing nonpharmacological public health measures in populations in situations of vulnerability in the context of COVID-19 was produced and the Region also gathered and analysed case studies on intersectoral mechanisms relevant to health in the context of COVID-19.

In the European Region, WHO stepped up leadership to deliver on this Output in 2020. To operationalize the Global action plan for healthy lives and well-being for all, multi-agency initiatives were initiated in Albania, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine, including joint health assessments and integrated policy support for countries with a focus on whole-of-society engagement. As a result of WHO advocacy, health and its determinants featured in the Regional Forum for Sustainable Development 2020 and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2020. Key guidance documents were published, including Gender equality issues in the context of COVID-19 and Health first: Protecting health services and systems in socioeconomic recovery plans. At the 2020 Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessments, WHO supported the integration of health perspectives in the Vilnius Declaration, emphasizing the need for a healthy and green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A webinar was held on the occasion of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, entitled Action and partnership on antimicrobial resistance to ensure a coordinated One Health approach in Europe and central Asia, during which a Regional Tripartite Joint Secretariat was launched between WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Headquarters implemented the WHO Chemicals Road Map through a series of coordinated events and activities. Country-developed road maps and case studies on the implementation of activities were shared through the WHO Global Chemicals and Health Network. WHO also helped to develop plans to evaluate the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention’s objective to protect human health from mercury exposure. The One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance was established and the multipartner trust fund – with a budget of US$ 15 million – made grants to six countries and four global projects supporting the One Health approach. WHO participated in and provided input for the revised Codex Alimentarius Code of Practice (CoP) to Minimize and Contain Antimicrobial Resistance and for development of Guidelines on integrated surveillance of antimicrobial resistance. The Code of Practice is being revised using the WHO list of critically important antimicrobials, and the Guidelines on integrated surveillance developed using Guidance on integrated surveillance of AMR in foodborne bacteria. Since the Codex Alimentarius sets out standards for its members, WHO provides advice and support to Codex work.

Across all the work involved in delivering this Output, 2020 revealed the importance of mentoring programmes and increasing south–south collaboration by enhancing institutional capacity and sharing experiences when scaling up activities. Moreover, while the COVID-19 pandemic affected the ways in which technical assistance is delivered and capacities strengthened, it also provided opportunities to highlight and prioritize governance mechanisms for addressing health determinants and multisectoral risks.