From 22-23 November 2017, the World Heart Federation will participate in a Special Session of the WHO Executive Board, held in Geneva, Switzerland.
This additional meeting has been convened by WHO to discuss the Draft 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13), a strategic document that will guide WHO’s support to its Member States from 2019-2023.
The current draft of GPW13 has been open for consultation ahead of the Executive Board meeting, and the WHF has compiled and submitted a response to this draft based on comments drawn from WHF Members, Board and staff.
Among WHF’s key comments are:
- Strong support for WHO’s top strategic priority of supporting ‘countries to strengthen health systems in order to progress towards UHC’
- A recommendation to add a target of 80% coverage of NCD essential medicines and technologies to the Impact Framework, and to make ‘Access to NCD essential medicines and technologies’ a WHO flagship initiative
- A request to WHO to outline in GPW13 its plans for fast-tracking the implementation of the framework for engagement with non-State actors, or FENSA (a key step to building partnerships to address social, economic, commercial and environmental determinants of health)
WHF will also participate in the meeting and deliver a policy statement that summarizes the key recommendations from WHF’s submission.