Official delegations from ten countries have called for tobacco control to be prioritised at this, and future, meetings of the World Health Assembly (WHA), stating that reducing tobacco use is central to protecting and promoting health.
Official delegations from ten countries have called for tobacco control to be prioritised at this, and future, meetings of the World Health Assembly (WHA), stating that reducing tobacco use is central to protecting and promoting health. Mechanisms for ensuring that tobacco control receives due consideration during this forum were proposed.
The draft proposal was written collaboratively by Australia, Brazil, India, Kenya, Norway, Oman, Panama, Philippines, Thailand and Uruguay, in an official side-meeting held to discuss Agenda Item 15.7: Strengthening synergies between the World Health Assembly and the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This item was discussed in relation to a parallel decision made at last year’s Conference of the Parties of the FCTC [FCTC/COP7(18)].
The proposal will be discussed and voted on during WHA, on Monday 29 May under Agenda Item 15.7. If the proposal is passed it will help increase transparency and accountability for tobacco control efforts globally, and its recommendations will be adopted as follows:
- to welcome the report presented by the President of the Conference of the Parties of the FCTC
- to invite the Conference of the Parties to provide a report on each of its conferences to the following Health Assembly. This report will provide official information for the Health Assembly’s agenda item on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
- to request the WHO Director-General to regularly provide reports for the Conference of the Parties of the FCTC on resolutions and decisions of the Health Assembly relevant to the implementation of the Framework Convention.