[afro-nets] Strategies to Fight Obesity and Improve Reproductive Health

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

States Endorse UN Health Agency Strategies to Fight Obesity and
Improve Reproductive Health
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from Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel@undp.org>


New York, May 23 2004 9:00AM

Aiming to fight lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases,
countries meeting in Geneva have adopted the World Health Or-
ganization (WHO) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and
Health.

This action by the annual World Health Assembly gathering on
Saturday is considered especially urgent since these illnesses -
- which include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain
cancers and obesity-related conditions -- now account for some
60 per cent of global deaths and almost half of the global bur-
den of disease.

"This is a landmark achievement in global public health policy
and provides our Member States with a powerful instrument, which
will enable them to develop effective and integrated national
strategies to reduce the human and socioeconomic costs of non-
communicable diseases," said WHO Director-General Dr. Lee Jong-
wook.

He also pointed out that the burden of death, illness and dis-
ability caused by non-communicable diseases "is now greatest in
developing countries, where those affected are on average
younger than in the developed world."

The strategy emphasizes the need to limit the consumption of
saturated fats and trans fatty acids, salt and sugars, and to
increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and levels of
physical activity. It also addresses the role of prevention in
health services; food and agriculture policies; fiscal policies;
surveillance systems; regulatory policies; consumer education
and communication including marketing, health claims and nutri-
tion labelling; and school policies as they affect food and
physical activity choices.

The World Health Assembly also endorsed a new strategy on repro-
ductive health in a bid to combat the spread of sexually trans-
mitted disease and make pregnancy and childbirth safer.

That plan targets five priority areas: improving antenatal, de-
livery, postpartum and newborn care; providing high-quality fam-
ily planning services, abortion; combating sexually transmitted
infections; and promoting sexual health.

"Unsafe sex is one of the biggest risks to our health today,
largely as a result of acquiring sexually-transmitted infec-
tions, such as HIV/AIDS," said Joy Phumaphi, WHO's Assistant Di-
rector-General of Family and Community Health. "It is fundamen-
tal to the social and economic development of communities,
economies and nations."

Each year, some 8 million of the estimated 210 million women who
become pregnant suffer life-threatening complications related to
pregnancy, many experiencing long-term effects. In 2000, an es-
timated 529,000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth from
largely preventable causes.