WHO Assembly Sets New Strategies

Health authorities meeting at the 57th World Health Assembly in Geneva in May endorsed a series of new measures to combat some of the fastest growing threats to global health, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, traffic injuries, and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (right) greets WHO Director-General LEE Jong-wook. Photo ©Pierre Virot/WHO

In a widely reported action, the assembly adopted a new WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. It addresses the major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases, which WHO says account for some 60 percent of global deaths and nearly half of the total global burden of disease. The strategy urges limited consumption of saturated fats, transfatty acids, salt and sugars, along with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables and stepped-up physical activity.

"This is a landmark achievement in global public health policy and provides our Member States with a powerful instrument, which will enable them to develop effective and integrated national strategies to reduce the human and socioeconomic costs of noncommunicable diseases," said WHO Director-General LEE Jong-wook.

The global policymaking meeting, held May 17-22, attracted more than 2,000 delegates, including representatives of 184 WHO Member States, official observer countries and nongovernmental organizations. Among special guests were former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

Other highpoints included:

• The adoption of the first WHO strategy on reproductive health, which targets maternal, prenatal and newborn care as well as family planning and sexually transmitted infections.
• A call for stepped-up promotion of healthy lifestyles among children, young people and members of poor and marginalized groups, as part of member countries' efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals.
• A call by Member States for WHO's director-general to improve access to antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries.
• A resolution on road safety outlining measures to help prevent the 1.2 million annual deaths and 50 million annual injuries caused by traffic crashes.
• An announcement by WHO that it would launch an emergency appeal for resources for a massive polio immunization campaign across West and Central Africa.
• A call for the development of recommendations and guidelines to harmonize global practices and ensure ethical practices in human organ and tissue transplantation.

In conjunction with former U.S. President Carter's appearance, pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. announced a $1 million donation to the Carter Center to support efforts to eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis) from the Americas by the end of this decade. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is contributing another $1 million to the effort, which is being coordinated by the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas, of which the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a member.