Statement to the 69th Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
Statement to the 69th Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean
Your excellencies, delegates, and colleagues. This statement is made on behalf of the World Obesity Federation. It is encouraging to see the development of roadmaps and national plan guidelines geared towards the fulfilment of the SDGs.
Within these, action on obesity cannot be side-lined and is vital for addressing a number of the Sustainable Development Goals. Levels of obesity are rapidly rising across the globe, including across the Eastern Mediterranean region which has some of the higher rates of obesity globally.
At this year’s World Health Assembly, Member States adopted a new set of global obesity recommendations and an accompanying Acceleration Plan. We congratulate those countries in the region which are considering or have already put themselves forward as front-runner countries for addressing obesity, and urge them to ensure commitments made are comprehensive, covering prevention and management of obesity throughout the life course, recognising the wide range of root causes of obesity including biology, genetics, food, physical activity, healthcare access, marketing, sleep, stigma and mental health, amongst others. Such commitments are vital, not only in the context of SDGs, but the wider health, NCD and nutrition agenda.
We stand ready to support action across the region. Thank you for your attention
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Statement to the 69th Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Report Number (c): Promoting health and well-being in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: moving from theory to action to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals
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