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At the opening ceremony of the 77th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA77), WHO Director-General Dr Tedros prepared delegations for a challenging week, stating, “Multilateralism is not easy, but it is the only way forward.” 

True to his words, running through WHA77 were deep-seated geopolitical tensions that often overshadowed technical health discussions. The Assembly saw an unprecedented number of voting rounds, with eight addressing contentious issues ranging from health emergencies in Palestine and Ukraine to the wording of previously well-established language on gender. This shift towards voting reflects a growing struggle to achieve consensus on critical global health issues, emphasizing the need for robust diplomatic efforts in future assemblies. 

How did the delegations navigate this diplomatic dance and what were the achievements for noncommunicable diseases? Download our extensive analysis of WHA77 discussions and find some of the answers.