‘Over the years, the Task Force has not only championed multi-sectoral collaboration but also ensured the work is rooted in country level impact. This is a model of how the UN can and should work together, leveraging collective strengths to deliver on global health's commitments.’ , WHO’s Assistant Director-General, Dr Jerome Salomon, 11th Meeting of the Friends of the Task Force, 25 September 2024
Champions of the UN NCD Task Force came together in large numbers during this year’s UN General Assembly for the annual Friends of the Task Force meeting. This year’s theme was the importance of fiscal, regulatory and legislative action to the toll of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and chronic lung disease.
Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director of the WHO Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region described in detail the benefits of excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food and beverages but also the challenges, reminding everyone that 'introducing such measures often involves confronting powerful commercial interests'.
Despite these challenges, great examples of success exist. Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire, Philippines Undersecretary of Health, co-organizer of the get together, highlighted how the Philippines has used taxation to reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption, with revenue raised being used to improve public health.
The recently appointed WHO Special Envoy for Chronic Respiratory Disease, Jose Luis Castro, highlighted the heavy toll tobacco consumption takes on global public health, exacerbating chronic respiratory diseases worldwide, though with varying impact across regions and the potential of health taxes to reduce NCDs. ‘The importance of the political leadership to drive the implementation of tobacco control policies, and especially taxation, has two important effects, one in the reduction of the consumption of tobacco, but also in bringing revenue to the governments to address the issues of the illness that tobacco causes’, Jose Luis Castro said.
Minister Samateh of The Gambia emphasized the point, saying, ‘The Gambia has introduced a tax for sugar-sweetened beverages, and that's helping people, because the prices of those products have gone up, and that is making them less and less attractive for people’.
The benefits of health taxes reach across all age groups, but especially children and adolescents. ‘Every child has the right to grow up in an environment that enables them to thrive free from the preventable harms caused by such tobacco, alcohol, and sugary products. Taxes are a very cost-effective measure, especially among young people, because they are particularly price sensitive,’ Helga Fogstad UNICEF Director of Health explained to the Friends. UNDP and Movendi International also committed themselves to ever stronger action on health taxes.
Alexey Kulikov, from the Task Force Secretariat shared a set of recently published reports led by the Task Force Secretariat, WHO and UNDP that provide a step-by-step approach for policymakers to build the cases for tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes to reduce the burden of NCDs.
Kulikov in updating the Friends of the wider work of the Task Force, shared three other recently launched reports: (i) a digital health global business case report, Going digital for NCDs: the case for action; (ii) results of the 3-year NCD and mental health project across 7 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific; and (iii) a shocking new report that reveals that only 7% of United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks included alcohol control measures.
A number of partners pledged support to the Task Force, including a donation of USD 4 million from the Lilly Foundation to the US Fund for UNICEF for the Health4Life Fund, building on the support of the Scottish Government, Mauritius, Kenya, Uruguay and Philippines, with Philippines Undersecretary of Health reminding the Friends, ‘The Philippines is a partner in the Health4Life Fund, seeking to catalyse action in low- and middle-income countries to strengthen the responses to NCDs and mental health. As we all know, investments in NCD prevention and care are investments in the health systems of tomorrow.’
Sophie Olsen, Director of Global Health Equity at Novo Nordisk described an important new collaboration between Novo Nordisk and the Task Force on obesity and type 1 diabetes. ‘We are truly committed to continuously supporting both at the global level and at the country level, with better policies, accelerating NCD change, and we remain really committed to the WHO mandate of supporting vulnerable populations across the world,’ she said.
As always, the Friends honoured the winners of this year’s Task Force Awards, with a number of winners receiving the accolade for their work in assistive technology, with the awards being announced by Hanan Balkhy. The Friends were fortunate to hear from the experiences and achievements of a few of the worthy winners.
Dr Hanan Balkhy presents the award to the Ministers of Health of Dominican Republic and Ethiopia, 11th Meeting of the Friends of the Task Force, 25 September 2024