Health ministers from across the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region today endorsed an action plan to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing and called for the development of a plan to promote the well-being of people as they age.
These decisions were taken at the seventieth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, taking place this week in Manila, Philippines.
Protecting children from the harmful impact of food marketing
Processed foods are more available, affordable and accessible than ever due to rapid economic growth, urbanization and globalization. Marketing of breast-milk substitutes, such as infant formula, and food and drinks high in saturated fats, trans fats, free sugars or salt is widespread. This has contributed to a low proportion of babies being breastfed for the past decade, poor diets, overweight and obesity in children, and growing prevalence of diet-related noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes. Among children aged under 5 years in the Western Pacific Region in 2018, an estimated 7.7 million were stunted (too short for their age), 2.6 million were wasted (too thin for their height), and 7.2 million were overweight or obese.
Delegates today endorsed the Regional Action Framework on Protecting Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing in the Western Pacific. The resolution calls on WHO to support Member States, as appropriate to their national context, in: eliminating the public’s exposure to marketing of breast-milk substitutes; ending inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children; reducing children’s exposure to marketing of food and drinks high in saturated fats, trans fats, free sugars or salt; and minimizing the persuasive appeal to children of marketing for food and drinks high in saturated fats, trans fats, free sugars or salt.
The resolution also calls on Member States to: strengthen leadership, governance and regulation; support multisectoral and multi-stakeholder actions; strengthen advocacy and communication; and strengthen national capacity to monitor implementation of these initiatives, evaluate progress and build evidence.
Ensuring healthy ageing for all
Delegates at the Regional Committee today adopted a decision on ageing and health, following a panel discussion the previous day.
Improvements in life expectancy and shrinking family sizes are resulting in populations ageing. This process is occurring at different rates in countries across the WHO Western Pacific Region. In 2013, governments endorsed the Regional Framework for Action on Ageing and Health in the Western Pacific (2014–2019). As that time frame is drawing to a close, Member States reviewed progress, shared experiences and discussed ways forward, recognizing that early action in preparation for an ageing population is an opportunity to transform health systems today.
Strengthening health security
Also today, delegates discussed progress in health security. They noted that the Asia Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases and Public Health Emergencies (APSED III) and the Western Pacific Regional Framework for Action for Disaster Risk Management for Health have helped countries strengthen their capacity to anticipate and respond to health security threats. Many countries now have national action plans for health security, which have improved stakeholder coordination, planning and implementation. Countries have also made progress in pandemic preparedness and emergency operations management. Examples from the past year include the responses to flooding in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic following the collapse of a dam, Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines and a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea.
Despite progress, delegates recognized that disease outbreaks and public health emergencies continue to pose challenges for health security in the Region. Health security remains a high priority for governments and WHO, as reflected in the Organization’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019–2023 and For the Future: Towards the Healthiest and Safest Region, the policy paper endorsed by delegates this week that sets out WHO’s work in the Region for the coming five years.
Tomorrow, the Regional Committee is expected to adopt resolutions on tobacco control and antimicrobial resistance. Delegates will also discuss progress on infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases including mental health, newborn health, and climate change and environmental health.
Related links
Protecting children from harmful impact of food marketing
Ageing and health
Notes to editors
A livestream of the Regional Committee proceedings, official documents, fact sheets and videos on the issues to be discussed can be accessed here: www.who.int/westernpacific/about/governance/regional-committee/seventieth-session
Updates are being posted on the @WHOWPRO Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts with the hashtag #RCM70.
Working with 194 Member States across six regions, WHO is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for public health. Each WHO region has its own regional committee—a governing body composed of ministers of health and senior officials from Member States. Each regional committee meets annually.
There are 37 countries and areas in the WHO Western Pacific Region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, France (which has responsibility for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna), Hong Kong SAR (China), Japan, Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which has responsibility for Pitcairn Islands), the United States of America (which has responsibility for American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam), Vanuatu, and Viet Nam.