Healthy Living and Prevention

Effectively protecting and improving the health of children and young people, increasing the number of years spent in good health, and addressing the burden of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) are part of one and the same goal. In other words, protecting the health and potential of the next generations, creating environments that promote lifelong healthy habits, and helping countries to deal with the root causes of 80% of the health and financial burden on health systems, are the different facets of the same challenge. Failing to do so is failing on the duty of care towards the young, missing the opportunity to increase the overall resilience and productivity of our societies, and losing aim of where 4/5 of the health challenges lie.

This is a topic to which citizens can immediately relate to and care for and where international collaboration can clearly add value, momentum – and results. This session will recognize the need for approaches that are both ambitious and pragmatic, with a clear operational path to deliver prevention and achieve healthy living, achieving the results that have elude us thus far. This session will also address barriers to introducing mandatory legislation and policies such as taxation, labelling and marketing restrictions or the MPOWER technical package to reverse the tobacco epidemic.

In the run up to the Fourth UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025, urgent interventions are needed to take us to Agenda 2030, along with long-term more generational components, including commercial determinants, that have a longer time horizon. An effective approach to prevention and promotion should start with families, children, and young people. It should also be comprehensive, covering dimensions such as access to promotion and prevention, vaccination and care; improved nutrition and physical activity; protection from tobacco and alcohol, and the commercial determinants of health; safeguard of children’s mental and physical health from novel digital risks, such as influencers pushing unhealthy food, alcohol or tobacco products, social media pressure, or cyberbullying. Promoting such a package of coordinated action would increase the communication potential and multiply the impact as needed.

Such holistic approach would be anchored in practical instruments. In many of these areas, excellent practices already exist and countries can be clustered in the teams and supported to better adjust and replicate the best approaches. Conversely, in the topics for which gaps exist, joint work should aim at designing innovative, system-wide approaches. This should aim in raising the bar for all, instead of settling for the minimum common denominator.