4.3 Resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs

The UN General Assembly has debated NCDs on three occasions: in 2011, in 2014 and in 2018. This section describes the declarations resulting from these debates.

4.3.1 Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (2011)

This political declaration (78) contains commitments by heads of States and governments to address the prevention and control of NCDs worldwide. It has a particular focus on developmental and other challenges, and social and economic impacts, particularly for developing countries. This declaration followed the First Ministerial Conference on Healthy Lifestyles and Noncommunicable Disease Control in Moscow, Russian Federation, in 2011 (90, 91).

Two commitments are relevant in the context of healthy diets and physical activity. The first is the commitment to implement relevant international agreements and strategies, education, and legislative, regulatory and fiscal measures. Specific actions to be taken to fulfil this commitment include developing, strengthening and implementing public policies that create health-promoting environments and promote healthy choices and health education; implementing the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (77); and implementing WHO’s recommendations on the marketing of foods and NABs to children (11) (discussed below). Second is the commitment to strengthen the contribution of the private sector to the prevention and control of NCDs, through actions such as calling on the private sector to implement WHO’s recommendations on the marketing of foods and NABs to children (11), and encouraging: • product reformulation to provide healthier options; • product labelling; • the private sector to promote and create an environment for healthy behaviours among workers; and • the production of foods with reduced salt content.

4.3.2 Outcome Document of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Comprehensive Review and Assessment of the Progress Achieved in the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (2014)

The 2014 outcome document (80) reaffirmed Member States’ commitments to address NCDs (e.g. through implementation of relevant international agreements, legislation, and regulatory and fiscal measures) and to continue to strengthen international cooperation (e.g. through the exchange of best practices in the areas of legislation and regulation).

4.3.3 Political Declaration of the Third High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (2018)

In this political declaration (83), Member States reaffirmed their commitment to accelerate the implementation of the measures they had committed to in the 2011 political declaration (78) and the 2014 outcome document (80). In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Member States committed themselves to “reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030 through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being, by addressing their risk factors and the determinants of health” (83). Member States committed to not only scale up implementation of the commitments they made in 2011 and 2014, but also to “implement, according to own-country-led prioritization, a set of cost-effective, affordable and evidence-based interventions and good practices, including those recommended by the World Health Organization, for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases” (83). Thus, the 2018 political declaration tied commitments made at UN level with complementary commitments made