WHO’s Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of NCDs was first presented in A53/14 in May 2000 and was endorsed in resolution A53.17.
In May 2008 the Assembly (in A61.14) endorsed the Action Plan for the Global Strategy (for 2008 - 2013). Progress in implementation was reported to WHA63 in 2010 in A63/12.
The first UN HLM on NCDs was held in September 2011 and adopted the Political Declaration on NCDs. This declaration called upon WHO to develop a comprehensive global monitoring framework and a set of voluntary global targets.
In A66.10 (May 2013) the Assembly endorsed the global action plan on NCDs (for 2013 - 2020) and adopted the global monitoring framework and the nine voluntary global targets. A66.10 also requested the Secretariat to develop terms of reference for a global coordinating mechanism and to propose an update of Appendix 3 of the global action plan. See PHM-MMI intervention in the discussion of this item.
In May 2014 the Assembly considered Secretariat reports (in A67/14) on:
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the action plan for the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2008–2013; and
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WHO’s role in the preparation, implementation and follow-up to the United Nations General Assembly comprehensive review and assessment in 2014 of the progress achieved in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (also A67/14 Add.2);
and approved:
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the terms of reference for the global coordination mechanism on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (see para 8 of the Annex to A67/14 Add.1) and the proposed work plan for the Global coordination mechanism (at para 5 of A67/14 Add.3 Rev.1);
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the proposed terms of reference for the United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (para 17 of A67/14); and the
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limited set of action plan indicators for the WHO global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2020 (Annex 4 to A67/14).
See PHM’s comment on this item at WHA67.
A second HLM of the UN General Assembly was held in July 2014 to review progress on the 2011 Political Declaration (see 2014 outcome document).
The DG reported to WHA68 in May 2015 (A68/11) on the discussion at the HLM and the follow up tasks to be carried by WHO. See record of discussion in Ctee B (7th and 8th meetings). The committee noted the report.
PHM’s comment on this item at WHA68 focused on:
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the underfunding of WHO’s work on NCDs;
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the absence of any reference to trade in the proposed workplan for the Global Coordination Mechanism;
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the failure to address conflict of interest around NCD policy making in WHO and at the UN;
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the need for a legally binding instrument to regulate TNCs as part of any strategy to address NCDs;
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the need for tax reform and to protect L&MICs from corporate extortion (promises and threats around foreign investment) as conditions for sufficient public revenue for health system strengthening;
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the need to address the drivers of increasing drug prices in relation to NCDs, such as cancer.
The focus of discussion at WHA69 was on the preparation for the third HLM of the UNGA on NCDs in 2018. The Assembly considered A69/10 and adopted A69.6. See discussion in Committee A, 11th meeting.
PHM’s comment on this agenda item at WHA69 highlighted:
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the continued underfunding of WHO’s work on NCDs under the ‘financing dialogue’;
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the need to include tools such as health impact assessment regarding proposed trade agreements in view of the importance of trade relations in shaping the NCD environment;
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the proposal to register and publicise the ‘contributions’ of private sector entities, philanthropies and civil society organisations to the achievement of the nine global targets; the need to include provision for independent nomination of entities to be registered and for negative contributions to be publicised;
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some of the issues being considered by working groups established under the GCM;
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the need for the Inter-Agency Taskforce to progress the proposal for a binding agreement on TNCs.
More about the global coordination mechanism for NCDs (GCM/NCDs)
The GCM was announced 2013 in the Global Action Plan 2013-2020 in the Annex to A66/9. The main aim of the GCM will be (from para 14 of the Annex):
“... to engage with Member States, United Nations funds, programmes and agencies, international partners including academia and relevant nongovernmental organizations and selected private sector entities that are committed to implementing the action plan, while safeguarding WHO from any real, perceived or potential conflicts of interest; the engagement with non-State actors will follow the relevant rules currently being negotiated as part of WHO reform.”
The Assembly adopted WHA66.10 (2013) which in op para 3 asked the DG to develop terms of reference for the GCM.
In May 2014 WHA67 considered the proposed terms of reference for the GCM (annex to A67/14 Add.1) and the proposed workplan for 2014-15 (A67/14 Add.3) and the 7th meeting of Committee A endorsed both. In May 2016 the Assembly received a report on the 2014-15 workplan of the GCM in Annex 5 of A69/10.
The workplan for 2016-17 was presented to WHA68 in May 2015 in Annex 3 to A68/11. The proposed work plan for 2018-19 was presented in Annex 3 of A70/27.
The GCM is coordinated from within the NCDs unit in the Secretariat and reports to the DG. A range of tools, activities, working groups etc were linked from the GCM home page.
The terms of reference for the GCM (annex to A67/14 Add.1) provided for a preliminary evaluation which took place in 2017 (see para 21 in A70/27) and was reported to the Assembly in A71/14 Add.1.
The terms of reference also provided for a final evaluation which was reported to WHA74 via EB148 (Jan 2021) in EB148/7 Add.2.
In Decision WHA74(11), having considered the mid-point evaluation of the WHO global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013–2030 (A74/10 Add.1), and the final evaluation of the WHO global coordination mechanism (EB148/7 Add.2), and the options paper on the WHO global coordination mechanism (A74/10 Add.3), the Assembly decided to extend the current terms of reference of the WHO global coordination mechanism until 2030 with a mid-term evaluation in 2025 and asked the DG to develop a workplan and provided new guidelines for the work of the mechanism.
The DG's response was submitted to EB150 in EB150/7 Annex 10.
Links to previous governing body discussions of NCDs here.