{"id":2456,"date":"2017-06-12T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/news\/70th-world-health-assembly-round-up-of-key-decisions\/"},"modified":"2021-04-30T19:10:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T18:10:48","slug":"70th-world-health-assembly-round-up-of-key-decisions","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/world-heart-federation.org\/news\/70th-world-health-assembly-round-up-of-key-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"70th World Health Assembly: Round-up of Key Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Election of new WHO Director-General: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus<\/p>\n
On Tuesday 25 May, Ethiopian Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected as the new WHO Director-General. Dr Tedros, as he is known, will be the first Director-General from the African region and the first to be elected following a transparent and competitive process. His term will last last five years, beginning on 01 July 2017.<\/p>\n
Dr Tedros placed a strong focus on universal health coverage in his campaign, and has also recognized the growing importance of tackling the global NCD epidemic. Speaking at a Geneva side event, Dr Tedros emphasized that NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes were preventable, declaring: \u2018it\u2019s in our hands\u2019.<\/p>\n
Endorsement of Appendix 3<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Under Agenda Item 15.1, Member States adopted a Resolution on Preparations for the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2018<\/a>. The Resolution included provisions to note the workplan of the Global Coordinating Mechanism on NCDs for 2018-2019, and urged countries to honour their international commitments on NCDs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Additionally, following extensive parallel discussions, Member States also voted to endorse the updated version of Appendix 3 \u2013 a list of cost-effective policy options to tackle NCDs.<\/p>\n However the United States of America disassociated itself from this endorsement of Appendix 3, and registered similar objections to certain measures contained in the Implementation Plan on Ending Childhood Obesity<\/p>\n Adoption of Resolution on the Health of Refugees and Migrants<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During lengthy discussions on Agenda Item 13.7, Member States acknowledged the necessity of strengthening whole health systems in order to promote the health of refugees and migrants, as well as the importance of responding to both the physical and mental health needs of migrants and refugees.<\/p>\n