The World Health Organization's No Tobacco unit, part of the Department of Health Promotion, in partnership with the WHO Regional Offices for the Western Pacific and South-East Asia, has convened a pivotal leadership programme on tobacco control. This intensive two-day event gathers WHO country office representatives from 12 nations across the Western Pacific and South-East Asia Regions, aiming to strengthen global efforts in reducing tobacco use and its health impacts. The programme was opened by Dr Susy Mercado, Director of Programme Management for the Western Pacific Region and Dr Mek Thaksaphon, Director of Programme Management for the South-East Asia Region.
The programme aims to deepen understanding of policies, evidence and strategies to advance tobacco control efforts. It also explores how these efforts can be leveraged to address other noncommunicable disease risk factors, such as alcohol consumption and unhealthy diets.
As the heads of WHO's country offices, WHO representatives serve as the Organization's ambassadors, public health leaders and champions at the country level. Their role is crucial in engaging with a range of government and non-State actors, including civil society and academia. The Executive Programme is designed to address the broad and evolving challenges faced by WHO representatives in their respective countries, with a focus on tobacco control.
The objective is to share experience, best practices and challenges in addressing the biggest public health needs in 2024, including actions largely outside the health sector. The leadership programme will share best practices and approaches for engaging with other branches of the executive (finance, trade, industry, and customs), as well as parliamentarians and society in general, including civil society organizations and the media.
Through engaging discussions with global experts, the programme seeks to generate innovative solutions to advance tobacco control efforts, foster partnerships to accelerate the goal of achieving a tobacco-free future, share successful strategies and experiences from the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions and beyond, and develop actionable strategies to address commercial determinants of health that contribute to noncommunicable diseases.
WHO representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines and Viet Nam are joined by the respective Directors of Programme Management from the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. Renowned global and regional experts from WHO technical units, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), the School of Global Studies at Thammasat University, the Bangladesh Network for NCD Control and Prevention (BNNCP), Minassian Media and Marathon Strategies are also participating.
With the 2030 deadline for achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 3a to strengthen the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control fast approaching, ensuring full alignment and preparedness across all three levels of the WHO to advance tobacco control is crucial.
