Maltese European Commissioner John Dalli has become the first member of the EU executive to represent the European Union at the UN General Assembly.
On Monday, Mr Dalli, who is Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, took part in a high level meeting that discussed the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
The debate was itself quite historic, being only the second time in the history of the UN General Assembly that a health issue was addressed, following the high level meeting on Aids in 2001.
The UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration addressing non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and diabetes, which account for 63 per cent of deaths worldwide. It called for a multi-pronged campaign by governments, industry and civil society to curb the risk factors behind these four groups of NCDs, with plans to be set up by 2013.
Stimulating the action needed to prevent and control such diseases would lead to “enormous gains” in health and help accelerate the process of social and economic development, Commissioner Dalli said during the meeting.
“A great deal of this burden is preventable through action on common risk factors and determinants such as tobacco, diet, physical activity and harmful alcohol consumption, as well as by addressing underlying social, economic and environmental determinants as well as mental disorders.”
Mr Dalli said the EU welcomed the draft political declaration and the emphasis on WHO leadership with full participation of member states in follow-up and monitoring.
“Moreover, we welcome the focus on health promotion and prevention, and on strengthening our awareness and commitment to dealing with health determinants, in particular with the aim of reducing health inequities,” he said.
Commissioner Dalli insisted the EU was taking forward strategies on tobacco use, unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity and harmful use of alcohol nationally and at EU level.
“Many EU member states are taking steps towards comprehensive smoke free legislation. Food reformulation is high on our agenda, notably through strategies to reduce salt, energy intake, saturated and trans-fats and added sugars. Alcohol-related harm is a major concern, particularly among young people,” he added.