Political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly
on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
A/RES/73/2
10. Welcome the report of the World Health Organization Independent High -level
Commission on Non-communicable Diseases entitled “Time to deliver”, and take
note of its recommendations;
11. Recognize that mental disorders and other mental health conditions, as well as
neurological disorders, contribute to the global burden of non-communicable diseases
and that people living with mental disorders and other mental health conditions may
face stigma and discrimination, being more susceptible to having their human rights
violated and abused, and also have an increased risk of other non -communicable
diseases and therefore higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and that depression
alone affects 300 million people globally and is the leading cause of disability
worldwide;
12. Acknowledge the significant impact of non-communicable diseases on children,
which is of major concern, in particular the rising levels of obesity among them,
recognizing that children who are given the opportunity to grow and develop in a
healthy environment that is responsive to their needs, including breastfeeding, and
that, at a young age, fosters and encourages healthy behaviour and lifestyles,
including healthy dietary choices and regular physical activity, and promotes the
maintenance of healthy weight, can greatly reduce the risk of non-communicable
diseases in adulthood;
13. Acknowledge the impact of non-communicable diseases on older persons,
which is of particular concern, given the growing proportion of older persons and
recognizing that they have an increased risk of multiple non-communicable diseases,
which constitutes a major challenge for health systems;
14. Acknowledge that mainstreaming a gender perspective into the prevention and
control of non-communicable diseases is crucial to understanding and addressing the
health risks and needs of women and men of all ages, giving particular attention to
the impact of non-communicable diseases on women in all settings;
15. Reaffirm the primary role and responsibility of governments at all levels in
responding to the challenge of non-communicable diseases by developing adequate
national multisectoral responses for their prevention and control , and promoting and
protecting the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, and underscore the importance of pursuing whole -ofgovernment and whole-of-society approaches, as well as health-in-all-policies
approaches, equity-based approaches and life-course approaches;
16. Acknowledge that other stakeholders also share responsibility and can
contribute in creating an environment conducive to preventing and controlling
non-communicable diseases, and recognize the need to bring together civil society
and the private sector to mobilize all their available resources, as appropriate, for the
implementation of national responses for the prevention and control of
non-communicable diseases;
We therefore commit to scale up our efforts and further implement the follo wing
actions:
17. Strengthen our commitment, as Heads of State and Government, to provide
strategic leadership for the prevention and control of non -communicable diseases by
promoting greater policy coherence and coordination through whole -of-government
and health-in-all-policies approaches and by engaging stakeholders in an appropriate,
coordinated, comprehensive and integrated, bold whole-of-society action and
response;
18. Scale up the implementation of the commitments made in 2011 and 2014 for the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases through ambitious
multisectoral national responses and thereby contribute to the overall implementation
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