The Fifteenth Meeting of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases was held from 3 to 5 November 2020. It was co-hosted by the World Bank and WHO. 27 United Nations system agencies and inter-governmental organizations participated. Members reviewed the 2020 ECOSOC resolution on the work of the Task Force.
Action was agreed on how the Task Force would continue to scale up action on NCDs and mental health during and beyond COVID-19, including additional support that the Task Force would provide to governments and UN country teams, the launch of the NCD and mental health Multi-Partner Trust Fund, and how to continue support implementation of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being. Participants reviewed progress of a number of joint programmes and activities. There was considerable focus of how to support countries develop sustainable financing and the role of health taxes as part of this.
Specific actions were agreed around tobacco control – including the Access Initiative for Quitting Tobacco (AIQT) and alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers, the SAFER initiative for reducing harmful use of alcohol, as well as cervical cancer, nutrition, mental health and air pollution. There were also discussions on NCDs and mental health in humanitarian and emergency settings.
Task Force members agreed the process for the 2021 Task Force Awards and the approach for reporting to ECOSOC in 2021.
A summary of the meeting will be made available on the Task Force’s webpages in the near future.