The 66th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) took place 20-28 May 2013 in Geneva. This Assembly was another milestone in the global response, with Member States reaffirming their commitment to address NCDs by putting in place the strong foundations of the global NCD architecture.
Recaps and Highlights from the 66th WHA
In addition to the action on NCDs, there were several agenda items of importance for the NCD community. Below are our network updates, with recaps with highlights:
- Update: Day 1 and Day 2 - 21 May 2013
- Update: Day 3 - 22 May 2013
- Update: Day 4 and Day 5 - 24 May 2013
- Agreement of the NCD omnibus resolution - 27 May 2013
- Highlights from the WHA - 28 May 2013
Click here for the NCD Alliance statement at the World Health Assembly
Omnibus Resolution
On Monday 27 May, Member States adopted an "omnibus resolution" on NCDs. This resolution combined major decisions and recommendations in a single, comprehensive resolution, including:
- Adopting the global monitoring framework (GMF), including 9 targets and 25 indicators
- Endorsing the Global NCD Action Plan 2013-2020 (GAP)
- Agreeing to establish a global coordination mechanism (GCM) for NCDs, and to develop terms of reference by November 2013
- Agreeing to establish a set of indicators to measure the implementation of the GAP
The adoption of this omnibus resolution is a major victory for NCDs. Click here to read the full resolution. The corrigendum of Appendix 3 on the GAP can be found here.
Ahead of WHA, the NCD Alliance prepared a "checkist" for the omnibus resolution, outlining elements for incusion to ensure a strong outcome. We are very pleased to note that almost all of these elements are included in the final resolution. Click here to read the NCD Alliance 2-page briefing on the omnibus resolution.
NCD Alliance side event and post-2015 report launch
The NCD Alliance hosted a multistakeholder dialogue at WHA on Monday 20 May 2013, The World We Want: Health and NCDs in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, to explore how health and NCDs should feature in the future framework.
Click here to view the video of the side event.
The event also served as a launch for the new NCD Alliance report: Healthy Planet, Healthy People: The NCD Alliance Vision for Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Click here to read our press release for the event.
Official Documents for WHA
Full documentation for WHA 66 can be found here.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré