WHO RC Meetings 2022: PAHO, EMRO & WPRO

The Regional Committee meetings of WHO for 2022 have now concluded.  The latest sessions scrutinised progress on political committments and agreed new actions to improve health outcomes and conditions across the regions.

In a recent article, we reported feedback on AFRO, SEARO and EURO held in August and early September.  In late September and October, the final three meetings were held for PAHO, EMRO and WPRO.  This concludes the regional meetings for 2022.

World Obesity contributed to proceedings through written statements submitted on agenda items relevant to NCD prevention and action on obesity.  Find below some of the highlights and key decisions from the meetings.

PAHO - 74th Session of the Regional Committee of WHO for the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference in Washington D.C. comprised a week of discussions by Ministers of Health and other delegates (civil society, NGOs, academia) on health priorities in the region.  The conference approved 13 resolutions, including a commitment to recover equitable progress toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and a strategy to keep the Americas free of polio.

During the outgoing Regional Director’s opening remarks, Dr Etienne highlighted efforts to reduce obesity in the PAHO region.  Fifteen countries have now imposed taxes on sugary beverages, nine have introduced nutrition and front-of-package labelling, and action has been taken to improve school-based meals.

Some of the wider pledges and commitments made during the PAHO conference include:

• Ministries of Health recommitted to advancing progress on the 17 SDGs, especially with regards to SG3 relating to Universal Health Coverage.
• The Quinquennial Report of the Director focussed on ensuring that equity in health remains at the forefront of efforts to meet the targets of the 17 SDGs. This refers to effective integration of actions to promote equity, and to ensure a fair recovery from the pandemic.
• The 2022 ‘Health in the Americas’ publication highlighted COVID-19’s impact on populations in the PAHO region, and underlined a drop in life expectancies.
• A new ‘Policy on Integrated Care for Improved Health Outcomes’ was adopted to address the fragmentation of health systems, “a problem that affects the organization, management, and delivery of care in almost the entire Region'.
• Further pledges were made on the development and implementation of a targeted polio mitigation plan, strengthened regulatory systems for medicines and other health technologies, and the consolidation of a regional genomic surveillance network.

For more information on the PAHO Regional Meeting, click here.

To read the complete final statement from the new PAHO Regional Director, click here.

EMRO - 69th Session of the Regional Committee of WHO for the Eastern Mediterranean

The 69^th Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean Region took place between 10-13 October in Cairo, and had Ministers of Health and representatives of Member States of the region meet in person for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The overarching theme of EMRO RC69 was: 'Reaching the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-COVID-19 age: Accelerating universal health coverage and health security – Health for All by All'. 

Member States were also urged to fulfil their commitments under Vision 2023 - Health for All by All, to implement the cervical cancer elimination strategy, ensure inclusivity of health access for refugees and migrants, update national strategies on HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, and to accelerate their implementation towards achieving the 2030 targets.

We used the opportunity to comment on Report Number (c).

The session’s resolutions have set out a robust plan for upcoming work in the region that we will contribute our full support to, in the push for enhanced health in these communities.

For more information on the EMRO RC69 session, please click here.

WPRO – 74th Session of the Regional Committee of WHO for the Western Pacific

The 73^rd session of the Western Pacific WHO region took place from 24-28 October in Manila, Philippines.  

Five priorities were laid out by the region’s director as the event began, these were five ‘Ps’. Promoting, protecting, providing, powering and performing for health.  Among the items on the session agenda were NCD disease prevention and control, COVID-19 vaccination, antimicrobial resistance, prevention and control of cervical cancer, and steps to strengthen health security architecture.

We contributed a statement to proceedings, welcoming the new ‘Regional Action Framework for Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control in the Western Pacific’. In the publication, Member States are called upon to ‘reorient the health delivery system into a people-centred health system that prevents ill health and accompanies people through the life course, and accelerate the implementation of evidence-based and cost-effective policy interventions’.

For more information on the WPRO RC74 session, please click here.

We would like to thank all members who have joined our delegation at the various meetings this year.  For any queries related to our policy activities and how you can get involved, please contact advocacy@worldobesity.org.