WHO Regional Committee Meetings & upcoming consultation with WHO

Annually, the individual WHO regional offices are convened to review progress to date and discuss ongoing priorities for the selected regions. 

As a non-state actor (NSA) in official relations with WHO, World Obesity is invited to take part in these important meetings and engage in dialogues with relevant Ministries of Health, CSOs and other key stakeholder groups from each region. Below are the dates for the upcoming WHO Regional Committee Meetings:

• August 24th-26th: Seventy-first Session of the Regional Committee meeting for Africa (virtual) – Registration deadline August 10th
• September 6th-10th: Seventy-fourth Session of the Regional Committee Meeting for South-East Asia (virtual)
• September 13th-15th: Seventy-first Session of the Regional Committee Meeting for Europe (virtual) – Registration deadline September 3rd
• September 20th-24th: Seventy-third Session of the Regional Committee Meeting for the Americas (Washington D.C.)
• October 11th-14th: Sixty-eight Session of the Regional Committee Meeting for the Eastern Mediterranean (Cairo, Egypt)
• October 25th-29th: Seventy-second Session of the Regional Committee Meeting for the Western Pacific (Himeji, Japan)

Given the regional focus of these meetings, this is a wonderful opportunity for our Members engage with and actively take part in these dialogues. In our role as NSA in official relations, World Obesity would like to invite our Members to attend these as a World Obesity representative. We would work with Members to draft and deliver statements on relevant agenda items for each of the meetings as well as offer you an opportunity to reflect on the process. Should you be interested in being registered for these meetings, please contact mneveux@worldobesity.org.

In-light of the past Seventy-Fourth World Health Assembly (WHA), these regional committee meetings will be playing a key role in shaping our upcoming obesity advocacy work. As you may recall, our main focus at this year’s World Health Assembly was the Resolution on “Reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases through strengthening prevention and control of diabetes”. Approved during the session, the Diabetes Resolution highlights the strong link between obesity and type 2 diabetes and asks WHO “to develop, in collaboration with Member States, and in consultation with non-State actors and people living with or affected by diabetes, recommendations for the prevention and management of obesity over the life course, including considering the potential development of targets in this regard”, submitting those through the 150th Executive Board (January 2022) to the next WHA in May 2022.

In-light of this milestone for the obesity community, WHO will be convening a virtual consultation with Member States in September and drafting a short report. Following the preliminary meeting, the document will be shared with key stakeholder meetings prior to being finalised and submitted ahead of the 150th Executive Board meeting. Further information will be communicated in due course.