UN General Assembly ask for High Level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases

The United Nations General Assembly decides to convene a high-level UN meeting in September 2011 on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

13 May 2010. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases.

The resolution was introduced by the representative of Trinidad and Tobago (on behalf of the Caribbean Community) and was co-sponsored by some one hundred countries. It seeks to halt the increasing trends in premature deaths from noncommunicable diseases worldwide.

The resolution calls to:

· convene a high-level meeting of the General Assembly in September 2011, with the participation of Heads of State and Government, on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases;

· include at the high-level Plenary Meeting next September to review the Millennium Development Goals discussions on the rising incidence and the socio-economic impact of noncommunicable diseases in developing countries;

· request the UN Secretary-General to prepare a global status report on noncommunicable diseases, with a particular focus on the developmental challenges faced by developing countries.

The resolution recognizes the enormous human suffering caused by non-communicable diseases and that these diseases are leading to increasing inequalities between countries and populations, thereby threatening the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

Further in the text of the resolution the General Assembly is “noting the call to consider integrating indicators to monitor the magnitude, the trend and socio-economic impact of non-communicable diseases into the Millennium Development Goals monitoring system,”

In the text of the resolution, the General Assembly notes with appreciation all relevant resolutions and decisions adopted by the World Health Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and underlines the importance for Member States to continue addressing key risk factors through the implementation, among others, of evidence-based strategies and interventions to reduce the public health problems caused by the harmful use of alcohol. The resolution points to alcohol abuse as one of the prominent risk factors for non-communicable diseases.

Click here to download the resolution

Click here to read the journal for Friday 14 May for a recapture of the General Assembly session (page 17-18).