The fifty-sixth session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD56) was held from 29 January to 7 February at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, under the priority theme: “strategies for eradicating poverty to achieve sustainable development for all”. The Commission is the advisory body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), responsible for the social development pillar of global development, including a review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups: World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons; Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities; World Programme of Action for Youth; Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, 2002; Family issues, policies and programmes.
On the margins of the Commission, WHO hosted a side event on ageing and participated in partner-run side events on substance abuse and health emergencies.
The WHO side event on 2 February, “MIPAA meets SDG3 – A Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030,” was moderated by Dr Ritu Sadana, Senior Health Advisor, WHO and chaired by Mr. Werner Obermeyer, Deputy Executive Director of the WHO Office at the UN. The event explored synergies between policy instruments – including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002, the WHO Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health 2016-2030, and Agenda 2030 – to catalyze meaningful and measurable impact to improve older peoples’ lives. It included the participation of the Permanent Missions of Japan and Mexico to the UN, UN DESA, the International Federation of Ageing, AARP, and a researcher from the University of Zurich. The panelists and over 50 participants discussed good practices and new evidence that can guide actions from 2020 to 2030 to support Healthy Ageing in countries, at different levels and involving multiple stakeholders.
WHO was also a speaker at a side event hosted by the IOGT International and the International Federation for Family Development entitled “Substance abuse in the Sustainable Development Era: Addiction prevention, treatment and recovery as tools to eradicate poverty and boost development”. Mr. Werner Obermeyer, Deputy Executive Director of the WHO Office at the UN, spoke on the current state of substance abuse worldwide and the links to our mental and physical health, the relationship to the 2030 Agenda, and the work WHO is doing, together with partners such as UNODC, in achieving the targets set out in SDG3.
Fatima Khan, External Relations Officer at the WHO office at the UN, participated in the panel discussion on “Achieving Poverty Eradication by Sustainable Health, Well-being and Education: The Case of Ebola in West Africa and other Epidemics and Disasters”. The meeting was organized by the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone and co-sponsored by several Member States and agencies. High-level representatives from China, France, Germany, Canada, Cuba, Guinea, Morocco and Uganda were also present. Fatima addressed the interlinkages among the SDGs, with a focus on goals 1, 3 and 4. She also spoke about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, as an example of the international community coming together with a multi-sectoral approach. She highlighted the necessity to invest in long-term resilience of health systems to better prevent, mitigate and respond to health emergencies.