The draft text of the small island developing states (SIDS) Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health Declaration was presented to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Monday.
Barbados’ Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, Matthew Wilson, and Ambassador of Fiji, Luke Daunivalu, made the presentation, at the WHO Headquarters, in Geneva.
The draft text is an input into the SIDS Ministerial Conference on NCDs and Mental Health, being hosted by the WHO, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Government of Barbados, through the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
The four-day high-level meeting opens today in Barbados, and will be addressed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, and WHO’s Director General, Dr. Ghebreyesus.
The co-chairs Ambassador Wilson and Ambassador Daunivalu indicated that they were humbled by the trust, confidence and support of SIDS to lead this process in arriving at the Outcome Document for the meeting.
Ambassador Wilson noted that “the robust, action-oriented nature of the document included the draft 2023 Bridgetown Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health, which would be the main plank of the outcome of the Ministerial Conference”.
He added that the Declaration serves as a catalyst towards fostering greater commitment and support to SIDS in addressing NCDs and mental health conditions.
Director General of the WHO, Dr. Ghebreyesus, thanked the Ambassadors “for leading on a comprehensive declaration”, and concluded that “now, we need political commitment to turn it into action”.
The document, which has been developed by SIDS for SIDS, is the result of four months of intense consultation with other small island health and development officials, as well as civil society organisations, including the Healthy Caribbean Coalition based in Barbados.
It reflects the outcomes of the SIDS High-Level Technical Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health, held in Barbados earlier this year, and has benefited from the strategic expert advice of the High-level Policy Expert Group.
Annex I of the Declaration lists concrete actions to accelerate progress on the prevention and management of NCDs and mental health conditions.
Annex II of the Declaration is the background document that sets the foundation for bold and concrete whole-of-systems action in addressing NCDs and mental health.