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Oral Statement for the 77th SEARO Regional Committee Meeting

Agenda item 9.6:
Monitoring progress and acceleration plan for NCDs, including oral health and integrated eye care, in the South-East Asia Region

Date: 7–9 October 2024

Honourable Chair,

Distinguished Delegates,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the NCD Alliance, South East Asia Regional NCD Alliance and its country-level member alliances. We appreciate the report’s focus on the profound toll NCDs continue to take on families, communities and health systems across our region. We applaud the WHO Regional Office, Member States and international partners for their efforts to advance the Implementation Roadmap for NCD Prevention and Control in South-East Asia 2022-2030, and welcome the inclusion of oral and eye health as regional priorities.

However, we are concerned that the progress in reducing premature mortality from NCDs needs to be further accelerated to achieve SDG target 3.4. The region continues to face significant challenges, including the highest global prevalence of tobacco use and physical inactivity, a double burden of malnutrition, and high levels of air pollution.

We strongly support the recommendations included in SEA/RC77/11 Add. 1 and urge Member States to:

  1. Ensure high-level participation at the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025 and meaningful engagement of civil society and people living with NCDs throughout the process.
  2. Promote multisectoral cooperation to mobilize NCD financing and improve policy enforcement and coherence by building political leadership to overcome commercial influence and implement the evidence-based fiscal and regulatory measures categorised as ‘best buys’ by WHO.
  3. Swiftly address the challenges posed by aggressive marketing of unhealthy products to children and adolescents, including in the digital environment and around new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products.
  4. Systematically integrate cost-effective NCD interventions into primary health care packages with referral systems to all levels of care to advance the UHC and NCD agenda.

Further, we support the emphasis accorded to adolescent health by Member States and commit our support for advancing NCD prevention and control efforts across the lifespan.

Thank You!

WHO Regional Committee Meeting 2024