On 2 May 2018, the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Denmark, Jamaica, and the Russian Federation, together with the World Health Organization and NCD Alliance hosted a briefing for missions in New York in the lead up to the 2018 High Level Meeting (HLM) on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). Delegates from several permanent and observer missions to the UN participated in the meeting.
H.E. Mr Courtenay Rattray, Permanent Representative (PR) of Jamaica in his opening remarks, reflected on the historic first HLM on NCDs in 2011, calling NCDs a “challenge of epidemic proportions”. He shared lessons learnt and best practices at the national level including the “Jamaica moves” campaign and stressed on the need for prevention to be at the cornerstone of any NCD initiative.
H.E. Mr Frederico Meyer, Deputy-Permanent Representative (DPR) of Brazil, pledged his country’s full engagement during the upcoming HLM negotiations and to continue the fight against NCDs.
H.E. Mr Peter Lehmann Nielsen, DPR of Denmark stressed on the need for more political awareness and commitment, particularly the need for more resource mobilisation, highlighting the Global Dialogue his country hosted with WHO on NCDs and Financing in Copenhagen in April 2018.
H.E. Mr Sergey Kononuchenko, DPR of the Russian Federation highlighted the first Global Ministerial Conference on Healthy lifestyles and NCDs in 2011 in Moscow, and noted Russia’s $1million contribution to the work of UNDP and WHO to tackle NCDs. He also shared the efforts his country is making at the national level in surveillance, prevention, and integration management of NCDs.
Mr Werner Obermeyer, Deputy Executive Director, WHO Office at the UN, in his remarks, emphasised on the significance of the year 2018 for health, given the upcoming HLMs on NCDs and TB. He highlighted the fact that this is a stepping stone for the anticipated HLM on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in 2019. He stressed on the need to put people at the centre of health systems and reiterated WHO’s commitment to work to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the most vulnerable. He provided a snapshot of the current global situation on the NCD burden and country responses, highlighting the fact that we are not on track in reaching the NCD targets albeit the downward trend. He urged countries to improve national capacities and address the lack of targeted assistance.
H.E. Mr František Ružička, Chef de Cabinet, Office of the President of the General Assembly outlined the process towards the NCD HLM in September, including the negotiations for the Outcome Document which start in June.
H.E. Mr Elbio Rosselli, PR of Uruguay, who together with Italy, facilitated the modalities resolution negotiations for the HLM, stated his commitment to continue to keep the utmost level of transparency and accessibility during the upcoming Declaration negotiations.
Dr. Ophira Ginsburg, NYU, speaking on behalf of the Union for International Cancer Control, underscored the importance of early detection and prevention in fighting cancer. She also introduced the UICC online tool - the Global Cancer Commitments Navigator.
Ms Priya Kanayson, Senior Advocacy Officer, NCD Alliance, underlined the fact that NCDs are not only a challenge but great opportunity for sustainable development.
In his closing remarks, H.E. Mr Sebastiano Cardi, PR of Italy, referring to the UN Secretary-General’s message emphasized that we cannot tackle health with a silos approach and called for a holistic approach with an overarching structure.