Editorials
| Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury |
| Princess Muna of Jordan |
| Rev. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus |
| Sir Michael Marmot, Chair WHO Commission of Social Determinants of Health and Dr. Ruth Bell |
| Caroline Worthington, Director, Florence Nightingale Museum |
| Mary Spinks, Director, Florence Nightingale Foundation |
| Wendy Williams, Ministry of Defence, UK |
| Deva Marie-Beck, co-Director, NIGH |
| Barbara Dossey, co-Director, NIGH |
| Baroness Cox of Queensbury |
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World Health Assembly sets out bold new action |
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The 61st World Health Assembly, which comprised of a record 2704 participants from 190 nations, meeting in Geneva recently, has set WHO on a course to tackle longstanding, new and looming threats to global public health.
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| WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, in her address, presented a detailed assessment of the world's current health problems as well as looming crises. |
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| Delegates at one of the day's sessions. The 61st World Health Assembly marks the 60th anniversary of WHO. |
Among its achievements, the Health Assembly produced a public health breakthrough by providing a platform for removing barriers and using innovative methods to encourage research, development and access to medicines for the common diseases of the developing world.
Delegates to the Health Assembly directly confronted major public health challenges which are now results of complex interactions of factors beyond health.
"At this World Health Assembly, we witnessed the interplay between the political, trade and health interests," said the President of the Health Assembly, Dr Leslie Ramsammy who is the Minister of Health of Guyana.
"Child and maternal health, and the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases rely on the supply chain and commodities. We are now much closer to having an increased flow of quality health commodities that will lead to better health," he added.
The Health Assembly endorsed a six-year action plan to tackle what are now the leading threats to human health: noncommunicable diseases. These diseases - particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases, caused 60 per cent of all deaths globally in 2005 -- estimated at 35 million deaths.
Low- and middle-income countries are the worst affected by these diseases which are largely preventable by modifying four common risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.
Delegates also requested WHO - through a resolution - to intensify its work to curb harmful use of alcohol, which is the fifth leading risk factor for death and disability in the world. They called upon WHO to develop a global strategy for this purpose. The work on the strategy will start immediately and Member States will be consulted throughout the drafting process.
Delegates to the Health Assembly also requested WHO and committed their own Ministries of Health to take action to protect health from climate change.
Delegates adopted a resolution that urges Member States to take decisive action to address health impacts from climate change, warning of its potential risks on human health.
The resolution calls on the health sector to: scale up adaptation projects that would limit the impacts of climate change on health to: raise global awareness of the impacts of health from climate change at national and international levels and boost political attention and action.
Member States also called on WHO to develop and strengthen the evidence base on links between climate change and health, and to help developing countries address health impacts from climate change.
The Health Assembly's actions were not limited to new challenges. Delegates also reaffirmed their commitments to eradicating polio and preparing for an influenza pandemic.
Other actions included:
- Female genital mutilation (FGM): Member States committed themselves to accelerating action towards the elimination of this practice through laws and educational and community efforts. Moreover, women and girls who have undergone FGM will be better supported, particularly as regards their care during childbirth, as well as in the social and psychological areas.
- Global immunization strategy: Vaccines already prevent 2 to 3 million deaths a year but the Health Assembly noted that they are still underutilized. Delegates directed WHO to help countries reach higher immunization coverage and to encourage development of new vaccines.
- Migrant health: Member States requested WHO to assess the health aspects in migrant environments and to explore options to improve the health of migrants.
"Health leaders from around the world have joined together in a united front on many big and difficult issues," said Dr Chan in closing the Health Assembly. "You consistently demonstrated a desire to reach consensus, and showed great flexibility in achieving compromise despite some significant differences," she added.
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