23 September 2016
Friends of Task Force Assess UN Progress on NCDs
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The Friends of the Task Force on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) gathered for a high-level roundtable to evaluate progress in the UN's work on NCDs.

The meeting focused on the current work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control on NCDs, showcasing how UN organizations are working together to support countries scale-up multi-sectoral action, in order to enable progress towards global and national NCDs targets.

un-task-force22 September 2016: The Friends of the Task Force on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) gathered for a high-level roundtable to evaluate progress in the UN’s work on NCDs. The meeting focused on the current work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control on NCDs, showcasing how UN organizations are working together to support countries scale-up multi-sectoral action, in order to enable progress towards global and national NCDs targets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Russian Federation hosted the high-level event on 22 September 2016, in New York, US, on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the Task Force in 2013 to coordinate the activities of UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations to support the realization of the commitments made by Heads of State and Government in the NCD 2011 Political Declaration, in particular through the implementation of the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013-2020. The Task Force includes more than 30 agencies, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP). In June 2016, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a resolution encouraging the Task Force to support governments to implement the NCD-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call to: by 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from NCDs through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being (target 3.4); strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol (target 3.5); by 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents (target 3.6); and strengthen the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate (target 3.a).

High-level officials participating in the roundtable noted that linkages exist between NCDs and all of the other SDGs, as well. They argued that, if NCDs are effectively addressed: economies will be stronger; the labor force more productive; and children will be able to attend school rather that looking after their parents with illnesses caused by tobacco and alcohol.

Participants included: Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO; John Boyce, Minister of Health, Barbados; Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Healthcare, Russian Federation; Jimmy Kolker, US Department of Health and Human Services; Annette Widmann-Mauz, Parliamentary Secretary of State, Federal Ministry of Health, Germany; Naoko Yamamoto, Ministry of Health, Japan; Raniero Guerra, Director General, Ministry of Health, Italy; Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, WHO; Douglas Webb, UN Development Programme (UNDP); and Oleg Chestnov, WHO.

Nick Banatvala, WHO, who moderated the panel discussion, also announced the launch of a set of briefs produced by the Task Force, titled ‘What Government Ministries Need to Know about Noncommunicable Diseases.’ The briefs provide policy makers with information about how NCDs affect their respective sectors, and steps they can take to respond to the challenges of NCDs while advancing their own objectives. [IISD RS Sources][Event flyer] [IISD RS Meeting Coverage]


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