Hayley Jones, Director at McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer, Co-Chair at Australian WHO Collaborating Centre Network, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“A busy, sunny Sunday in Geneva kicking off WHA79 week, starting the day with the World Health Organization’s’ Walk the Talk‘ event.
Great to be out early with colleagues from UICC, WHO and the WHO FCTC Convention Secretariat ahead of a packed week of global health discussions.
This was followed by a fantastic session at the World Heart Summit / NCD Alliance event on Turning Political Commitments into Measurable Action: Advancing the New Global Targets on NCDs after last year’s High-Level Meeting. Featuring Leslie Rae Ferat, Bente Mikkelsen, the WHO AFRO Regional Director Prof Mohamed Yakub Janai and a representative with lived experience of heart disease, it was a frank discussion on persistent challenges: highlighting the need to strengthen medical curricula, tackle the commercial determinants of health, and support regional collaboration.
As Prof Janai put it:
‘This is not a failure of medical knowledge. It is a failure of equitable distribution of care.’
Later, a powerful session on youth voices for tobacco control, convened by Bloomberg Philanthropies and moderated by Paula Johns, underscored the critical role of advocacy and law reform. Insights from Peru and Bosnia illustrated the ongoing challenges of tobacco industry interference, while Maurius provided an example of what is possible with concerted local action. A question from the floor raised how action can be taken in high income countries, and highlighted discussion of Switzerland’s smoking rates and relatively weak controls. While LMICs face significant pressures, it’s clear that high-income countries remain central to tobacco industry influence and must confront their own shortcomings.
Beyond the sessions, it was wonderful to reconnect with colleagues from Cancer Research UK (CRUK), Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, FEMAMA, UT MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER, NCD Alliance and hear the inside stories behind this work. I’m happy to work on a Sunday when the conversations are this meaningful, and yesterday was a great way to start the week!”
Other articles featuring Hayley Jones on OncoDaily.