My First Campaign

Good morning from Manhattan,

The final day of the United Nations General Assembly is upon us, and if you've been flitting around from event to event in New York, this week we imagine that you, like us, may be ready for a short nap.

Yesterday brought about the third high-level meeting on noncommunicable diseases, which was met with a similarly lukewarm response as the high-level meeting on tuberculosis. We heard rumblings from civil society organizations that the high-level meeting did broaden the dialogue, but there's little confidence that any new financing or meaningful commitments will result.

Today will be a lighter day as many delegates head home. There will be a few final pieces of business, however, including the launch of a new World Health Organization initiative to reduce harmful alcohol use by 10 percent by 2025 and an event exploring the intersection of alcohol, NCDs, and sustainable development.

If this finds you packing your bags, safe travels, and we wish everyone a happy weekend. We'll be back on Monday with a wrap-up briefing on UNGA week.

— Team Devex
(Amy Lieberman, Michael Igoe, Adva Saldinger, Catherine Cheney, and Kate Midden)

THE UN HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON NCDS: 'UNAMBITIOUS AND NON-COMMITTAL'

The high-level meeting on NCDs mostly went the way of the high-level meeting on TB, with NCD advocates feeling unimpressed by a notably hollow agreement.

Three things to know, from Amy Lieberman:

The United States has opposed measures specifically against some food, alcohol, and tobacco industries. Instead, the onus is placed heavily on individuals to live healthier lifestyles.

The agreement also does not specifically reference WHO's "best buys" for NCD reduction, which includes cutting tobacco use and improving unhealthy diets.

The agreement does broaden the conversation surrounding NCDs to mention air pollution as a source of chronic diseases and, for the first time, recognize that mental health conditions and neurological disorders contribute to the global burden of NCDs.

Get the full story here.

THE INDIA CONSENSUS

Some states in India are trying a new approach to development policy-making: Boiling decisions down to a cost-benefit analysis.

The India Consensus — a partnership between Tata Trusts and the Copenhagen Consensus Center — are at the forefront of this approach. Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar spoke to the leaders of these two organizations for a deeper look at the model.

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Q&A: Why a healthy planet means healthy people

Sitting down with Devex, Johnson & Johnson's Sonali Sharma explains key steps needed to tackle the intersection between climate change and health, and reveals why policy, partnership, and a public relations overhaul could be needed. Read more.

GETTING ACCOUNTABILITY RIGHT FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Throughout the week there were discussions about accountability — for governments, aid dollars, and also the private sector. The Independent Accountability Panel for Every Woman Every Child, Every Adolescent this year focused its annual report on tackling how the private sector can be held accountable in efforts to promote health for women, children, and adolescents.

Quite a few of those recommendations involved a stronger government oversight role in regulating private health providers, pharmaceutical companies, and the food and beverage industry. Other recommendations pushed donors and EWEC itself to improve accountability and transparency standards for how they engage with the private sector.

At a meeting launching the report, Anders Nordström, representing the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, said the report will start some important conversations, but that while companies have to follow laws, they are primarily accountable to their shareholders. Read the report here.

LONG STORY SHORT: THE TOP STORIES
FROM THE 73RD UNGA

U.N. correspondent Amy Lieberman talked NCDs, TB, Trump, and corporate partnerships (and lobbies) on this week's episode of Long Story Short.

GLOBAL BUY-IN FOR DIGITAL HEALTH

On Thursday, WHO and global NGO PATH signed an agreement that aims to advance digital health initiatives globally by collaborating on strategy, convening government leadership, and mapping interventions to reach scale. Read more here.

1 (MORE) NEW NCDS REPORT

NCDs are best treated at the local level, but primary health care systems — particularly in low- and middle-income countries — are not equipped to address such diseases.

Such are the findings of a new report we've launched with Philips that explores the connection between early detection and diagnosis of NCDs with our friends at Philips. You can find the full report here.

5 WAYS TO ADVANCE WOMEN IN GLOBAL HEALTH

Roopa Dhatt has been busy this UNGA week. Her organization, Women in Global Health, has 10 asks for U.N. member states and international organizations meeting at the UN. Here are five of the requests — and find the full list here.

Change the narrative. Women in global health are change agents and drivers of health, not victims.

Shift the mindset. Take advantage of 100 percent of the talent pool, especially women, all genders, marginalized groups, and people from diverse backgrounds.

Include voices from the south. Showcase women's voices from the global south as central to global health decision-making.

Recognize unpaid work. Record and value unpaid health and social care work by girls and women in order to move that work into the formal labor market.

Adopt gender transformative strategies. Do this through programs and policies that are enabling for all genders in global health work and organizations; focus on changing the environment, not on fixing women to fit into unequal organizations and cultures.

MEDIA ROUNDTABLE

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Thank you for reading. If you have thoughts, feedback, story ideas, or questions you would like to share, please tweet us @devex or send a note to editor@devex.com.