Bente Mikkelsen: SIDS Action for NCDs and Mental Health

Bente Mikkelsen shared a post on LinkedIn:   .

“I am pleased to share the second issue of the SIDS Newsletter, ‘SIDS Action for NCDs and Mental Health’. The newsletter aims to bring life to the 2023 Bridgetown Declaration launched during the SIDS Ministerial Conference on NCDs and mental health in June 2023, by showcasing country achievements and key efforts driving these important agendas forward.

In this issue, we note the excellent work in Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Mauritius and Cook Islands – congratulations to these country teams for being true champions on tobacco control, reducing hypertension, working to eliminate cervical cancer, implementing PEN, strengthening oral health, among other achievements. We also feature ‘Voices of SIDS’, and share key highlights from the Fourth International Conference on SIDS held in May which further amplified the call to action through a side-event titled, ‘By the SIDS, for the SIDS: Next decade of action on NCDs and mental health’.

I am delighted that 20 SIDS Member States have submitted over 60 actions to the SIDS Commitment Page.These countries are planning and implementing activities across different themes to improve prevention and care for NCDs and mental health conditions. I encourage all 39 SIDS Member States to make a submission to showcase what can be achieved by 2025 on the road to the fourth UN high-level meeting on NCDs.

You can view the newsletter online here.
Please do share it across your networks, and let us know your ideas for future issues by emailing:
Martyna Hogendorf, Professor Jérôme Salomon, Ailan Li, Stéphanie Seydoux.”

Source: Bente Mikkelsen/LinkedIn

Bente Mikkelsen is the  Director of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO Headquarters in Geneva and was previously Director for Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion in Europe. She also headed the secretariat for the WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on Noncommunicable Diseases.

Trained as a Gynecologist and Obstetrician, she holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration. Her primary focus now is aligning efforts toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals by reducing premature deaths from NCDs and employing innovation and collaboration across sectors.