5 key topics shaping the largest annual global health meeting
By Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Obesity Federation, and Naveen Thacker, Executive Director of the International Pediatric Association
As Ebola and measles unexpectedly resurface with deadly consequences and a warming world is linked to everything from the obesity pandemic to increased antibiotic resistance, health leaders are on their way to Geneva for the biggest global health meeting of the year.
The annual World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization. As Director-General Dr. Tedros solidifies his change agenda for the organisation, here are five of the top issues on the agenda:
- Ebola is back
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is accelerating, with the case count now shooting past 1,000. Adding to the dire situation, inadequate funding and violence against health workers, including the recent murder of WHO epidemiologist Dr. Richard Mouzoko, have hampered the response.
Despite these challenges, the WHO response has been rapid and decisive, increasing vaccine uptake and working with communities to end the crisis. However, further financial support from countries and donors is needed to arrest the outbreak. The legacy of the 2014 Ebola crisis still looms large and, while it continues to be a benchmark the current response is measured against, it must not eclipse the urgency of the current situation.
2. Delivering health to the masses
To make progress on everything from diabetes to malaria, health systems must be strengthened and even redesigned to make the aspirational rhetoric of people-centred care a reality. The Global Conference on Primary Health Care in October 2018 was a critical step for the global health community to break down siloes and address interconnections between disease burdens.
“Health for all” demands more than adequate treatment services for those who are already ill. It requires us to look at the broader picture of promoting and maintaining health across populations by harnessing the commitment of all sectors. Prevention needs to be prioritised alongside treatment as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This can help to reduce pressure on fragile health systems and promote healthy populations.
Leading up to the much-awaited high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on UHC in September, UHC is permeating global conversations and commitments, though the impact of the meeting depends on greater visibility and action in the coming months.
3. Threat of a warming world
The growing risks of extreme weather and rising seas will result in at least 250,000 additional deaths every year between 2030 and 2050 if we continue down a path of inaction on climate change.
This existential threat to health and wellbeing requires a rethink of our current systems, as highlighted in the recent Lancet Commission on The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition and Climate Change. Because these three issues share economic, social and political drivers, we cannot tackle one without addressing them all. Syndemic thinking can be a foundation for radical reorientation of systems to address these interrelated challenges.
4. Protecting and training health workers
Empowered health workers are the foundation of the health of communities and by extension, entire countries. However, many do not get the training and resources they need to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. We will not be able to address stigma around serious health challenges, from mental illness to alcohol-related diseases to malnutrition in all its forms, without a strong health workforce. Shortages of skilled health workers also put immense pressure on health systems. However, WHO reports that Member State investments are going up, with an increase of about 10 percent in the global stock of health workers since 2013. With 2020, the ‘Year of the Nurse’, coming up, campaigns like Nursing Now are gaining momentum and showing us the world is starting to tackle this issue.
Attacks on health workers doing their best to care for communities are also incredibly concerning. Recent killings of polio vaccinators and the police officers protecting them in Pakistan led to the suspension of the immunisation programme and raised red flags about the growing threat of vaccine hesitancy and the need for social media companies to do more to curb misinformation.
5. Replenishing top health funds
Later this year, global leaders will recommit to funds tackling AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, in addition to polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. As political leaders work domestically to drum up financial support, advocates need to be able to demonstrate why these funds are still needed at a time when systems are eclipsing vertical approaches.
The 2018 United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on TB reiterated that we are not on track to end the epidemic by 2030. The disease burden is not falling fast enough and the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is growing. A recent cross-UN report highlighted the urgent need to invest in research for new medicines due to this growing global antimicrobial resistance crisis. Additionally, to tackle the related challenge of access to quality medicines, we will need increased transparency around drug pricing and cost.
The World Health Assembly will also touch on the tragic threat of vaccine hesitancy, contributing to the recent outbreaks of measles in the US and other countries. At a time when peril is becoming routine, it is vital that WHA delivers on its mandate of advancing health for all.
Johanna Ralston is the CEO of the World Obesity Federation, former Vice Chair of NCD Alliance and a fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
Dr. Naveen Thacker is a pediatrician, the former president of the Asia Pacific Pediatric Association and Executive Director of the International Pediatric Association.
