Rev.3 Political Declaration in Silence: NCD Alliance Raises Alarm Over Weakened Commitments
As the Rev.3 draft of the Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health entered silence procedure on 4 August, we express deep concern over significant weakening of the Political Declaration across several areas where action is needed to reach SDG 3.4.
“Health-harming industries will be pleased with this latest version of the Political Declaration. Stripping out the target to increase and implement taxes on unhealthy products like tobacco – one of the most effective and cost-effective public health measures – marks a big step backwards.” - Alison Cox, Director of Policy and Advocacy, NCD Alliance.
Despite welcoming the retention of the fast-track targets, the current draft waters down action across key areas and reflects the influence of health-harming industries more than the urgency of the global NCD burden.
Key Concerns:
- Targets: Weakening of the tracer targets and the removal of references to the 2030 targets in the text.
- Fiscal measures: Removal of specific targets on taxes on health-harming products, weakening of the language, and omission of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in paragraph 43.
- Health-promoting environments: Many of the cost-effective and ‘best buy’ prevention measures entirely removed or watered down.
In addition, we raise concern in four other areas:
- Social participation: Commitments from the 2018 Political Declaration have been rolled back, with civil society mentioned only once.
- Air pollution: Fossil fuels are not explicitly identified as the main source. We urge commitment to WHO-aligned air quality standards and stronger action on polluting industries.
- Financing and protection: Weak ambition to reduce prices and out-of-pocket costs (OOPE), and diluted targets on financial protection.
- Access and affordability: We welcome the new paragraph on intellectual property rights. However, key language on "strategic purchasing agreements" has been removed and calls for greater pricing transparency and supplier accountability remain unmet.
What’s next? Be ready to act!
The declaration is now under silence, but by choosing to break silence, member states can re-enter negotiations on their key issues — risking further dilution of already fragile commitments.
We prefer silence to be maintained, to preserve what little strength remains in the current draft. However, given the high likelihood that silence will be broken, we call on Member States to:
- Protect the current language from further weakening, and
- Reinstate strong, specific, and measurable commitments where they have been removed.
Now is the time to stand firm. We cannot afford a Political Declaration that fails to deliver for people living with and at risk of NCDs. There is still time to show Leadership.
