WSO highlights
- WSO held our first ever WHA satellite event ‘United in Action to Transform Care’ with the participation of the Minister of Health and Well-Being of Jamaica and the 2nd Vice President of Costa Rica. The event was focused on improving and accelerating access to acute stroke treatment within overall national strategies to improve stroke care.
- WSO President and Executive Director held meetings with Ministry of Health of Tanzania and Ministry of Health of Vietnam.
- Three joint statements were given as part of negotiations on resolutions on climate change, pandemic preparedness and Universal Health Coverage
World Health Assembly Outcomes and Resolutions
General Program of Work
A major highlight of the assembly has been the adoption of the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14) which sets out a four-year, US$ 11.1 billion strategy for global health to promote, provide, and protect health and well-being for all people, with an emphasis on climate change, aging, migration, pandemic threats, and equity. All of these themes are salient to stroke, and we will be continuing out work to ensure that stroke is visible to strategic decision makers at WHO.
Follow-up to the political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
WSO supported the NCD Alliance constituency statement which highlighted the persistent progress gap and underfunding of NCDs which account for 74% of global mortality and are allocated 5% of WHO budget and 2% of development assistance for health. Together with NCD partners and stakeholders we called for better monitoring and data collection by governments, commitment to global financing targets, healthcare workforce development and financial investment.
Appendix 3 Unanimously Adopted
Appendix 3, sets out a menu of policy options for cost effective interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs. The updated Appendix was unanimously adopted and, in addition to setting out key prevention interventions, now specifies the delivery of ‘Comprehensive care of acute stroke patients in stroke units’. Comprehensive care is specified as including staffing by a specialist stroke multidisciplinary team, access to equipment for monitoring, and rehabilitation. The provision of thrombolysis and thrombectomy were also included as recommended treatments. This provides WSO members and partners with an excellent opportunity to engage with governments on strategies to advance implementation of WHO ‘best buys’.
Climate Change and Health
Member states adopted a resolution on Climate Change and Health. The Resolution clearly identifies climate change as a major threat to public health and sets out a framework to build climate-resilient and sustainable health systems.
WSO contributed to a constituency statement highlighting the relationship between climate, air pollution and stroke, expressing concern about the lack of a clear call to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and welcomed the development of a Global Plan of Action for Climate Change and Health.
Global Strategy on Emergency, Critical and Operative Care
In the context of the pressures being placed on national healthcare systems by human and natural disasters, and with specific reference to stroke, WHO has been tasked by members to develop a global strategy action plan for integrated emergency, critical and operative (ECO) care and services for the period of 2026—2035. This strategy is due to be presented at the World Health Assembly in May 2026.
View all WSO Policy Statements.
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