FORUT has reached out to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the revisions of the draft Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health.
The following features excerpts from the letter sent to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
FORUT alerted the Ministry that “the text has been watered down away from a bold, measurable, and equitable outcome document” that many NGOs working on public health have been advocating for.
Øystein Bakke, Senior Adviser for FORUT’s Alcohol, Drugs and Development Programme noted in the letter that commercial actors are very active in pushing back from strong commitments, such as removing ‘commercial’ and ‘structural’ from determinants of health, removing the recommendation to countries to counter the marketing of unhealthy products, and diluting the taxation recommendations.
FORUT highlighted its concern about the statements in the declaration about alcohol. FORUT noted that recommendations on how to respond to alcohol as an important risk factor are being removed, with the alcohol industry working hard at lobbying in New York.
In the letter, Bakke expressed concern that such lobbying may weaken the Political Declaration’s commitments to address alcohol harm. He noted that alcohol harm goes beyond mortality and has a causal relationship with increasing hypertension, a key issue for NCDs and a priority in the draft declaration.
FORUT urged the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make special reference to:
- Need to “accelerate” the implementation of the Global Alcohol Action Plan.
- Need to include a reference to the best buys policy options – Restricting alcohol availability; Implementing a ban or comprehensive restrictions on alcohol marketing; Increase taxation of alcohol beverages, in a similar manner as for other risk factors.
- Need to specify the need to “increase” taxation of unhealthy products, including alcohol.
FORUT expressed its appreciation for the constructive role that Norway and its aligned countries often play in these negotiations and hoped that Norway could help strengthen the political declaration.
