GCM/NCD Side Event: Prince Mahidol Award Conference

Bangkok, Thailand 
30 January 2017

The WHO Global Coordination Mechanism for the Prevention and Control of NCDs (GCM/NCD) hosted a side event on 30 January 2017 at the prestigious invitation-only Prince Mahidol Award Conference in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, the GCM/NCD had two speaking engagements in the main program.

The WHO GCM/NCD side event entitled: NCDs and Sustainable Development: The Way Forward, gathered global and national health leaders to discuss the complex global health landscape and the importance of inclusion of NCDs in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Preliminary findings of the GCM/NCD commissioned research on tracking resource flows into NCDs as part of development assistance for health were also presented.

The WHO GCM/NCD Side Event Panel included:

Dr Téa Collins (Moderator), Advisor, WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on NCDs

Speakers

Dr Bente Mikkelsen – Head of the Secretariat,
WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on NCDs
Dr Tim Evans – Senior Director, Health, Nutrition and Population, 
The World Bank Group
Dr Ariel Pablos-Mendez – Immediate Past Assistant Administrator, 
Bureau of Global Health, USAID
Dr Rachel Nugent - Vice President, 
Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases Global Initiative, RTI International
Dr Supattra Srivanichakorn – Medical Expert, 
Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
Dr Jennifer Adams – Acting Assistant Administrator, 
Bureau of Global Health, USAID
Dr Douglas Webb – Team Leader, Health and Innovative Financing, 
HIV, Health and Development Group, UNDP

The panelists spoke about the issues ranging from the challenges of implementing the 2030 Agenda and ensuring predictability of external funding to successful country examples and converging UHC and NCD agendas. The difficulties of implementing a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach” to address NCDs, as well as the challenges of working with the private sector, and the role of coordinating mechanisms at the national and global levels, were also discussed. The outcomes of the session will inform the recommendations of the WHO GCM/NCD working group on the alignment of international cooperation with national NCD plans.

The side event meeting report and presentations are available at: