Distinguished delegates,

In 2023, 3% of the world’s population needed humanitarian assistance. People living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) face particular challenges in health emergencies and other humanitarian settings. People with NCDs can be more vulnerable to infections and at higher risk of severe illness. When essential health and care services are disrupted, delays in diagnosis, treatment and care of underlying conditions cost lives. Those in the most vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted.

We welcome the report which provides an overview of global challenges relating to health emergencies. We would like to highlight the work done between WHO’s Emergency Preparedness and NCD teams, and the importance of the WHO Global high-level technical meeting on NCDs in humanitarian settings in 2024 in integration of NCDs in emergency preparedness and response.

People living with NCDs must be recognized as a vulnerable group in health emergency policies, planning, and broader humanitarian settings. We call on Member States to integrate essential NCD services at every stage of the emergency cycle, including prevention, treatment, and palliative care.

We urge Member States to collect and include detailed sex, age and disability disaggregated data on NCD prevalence, risk factors, and treatment for people of all ages in health information systems, and to use this data to guide care in emergencies and improve accountability.

To ensure uninterrupted services during health emergencies, Member States must prioritize the creation of a list of essential medicines, laboratory tests, and medical equipment for NCDs while extending access to existing emergency kits. Continuity of care should also be supported by ongoing training for the health workforce in NCD prevention and care.

NCD prevention remains critical in both health and humanitarian crises. This includes ensuring access to healthy diets, promoting physical activity, and protecting communities from health-harming industries.

We urge Member States to establish sustainable financing models to build resilient health systems to ensure that resources for NCD prevention and treatment are integrated into development assistance programmes and humanitarian health programmes.
Thank you