Past events
Seventy-first World Health Assembly
21–26 May 2018
Geneva, Switzerland
The Seventy-first World Health Assembly (WHA71) will take place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 21-26 May 2018. The World Health Assembly, the top decision-making body for WHO, generally is attended by delegations from all 194 WHO Member States to determine the policies of the organization.
With the 3rd UN High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) scheduled for 2018, this will be an important milestone in the lead up to the UN General Assembly, and the agenda will include items, discussions and side events relating to nutrition and NCDs and preparations for the Summit.
Regarding the formal sessions, those dealing with nutrition this year include:
- A71/22: Maternal, infant and young child nutrition - Comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition: biennial report
- A71/23: Maternal, infant and young child nutrition - Safeguarding against possible conflicts of interest in nutrition programmes
Beyond the plenary walls, several noteworthy side events on nutrition and NCDs will be held throughout the week. These include:
- Nutrition education and IDF action on junk food and serving sizes to tackle obesity and prevent diabetes among children, women and all those at risk on Tuesday 22May (18:00-20:00hrs) hosted by the International Diabetes Federation in Ballroom A of the InterContinental Hotel. Participants will discuss how to overcome the gaps in nutrition education to ensure a healthy future for the next generations, including how to scale up nutrition education and address junk food and serving sizes.
- The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative as a vehicle to galvanize action to achieve World Health Assembly and Global Breastfeeding Collective targets to increase exclusive and continued breastfeeding. This International Baby Food Action Networkevent will be held on Thursday 24 May (19:00-19:50hrs) in the Palais des Nations, Room IX.
- Nourishing UHC - Country successes, lessons-learnt and new tools on integrating infant and young child nutrition in health, with a focus on breastfeeding is being organized by Bangladesh, Ireland and Madagascar with co-sponsorship by Burkina Faso, Canada, France and the Philippines. The event will take place on Friday 25 May (12:30-14:00hrs).
- The SUN Nutrition Hub will run from 21 to 25 May in Villa le Bocage at the Palais des Nationsand provide a space for SUN Country representatives and diverse stakeholders to come together to facilitate mutual learning for increased impact at country level.
To prepare for WHA71 and inform the public about why these issues matter, we invite you to consider participating in the following events:
- 18-19 May: Civil society meetingsahead of WHA71 organized by the Geneva Global Health Hub.
- 20 May (10:30-13:00hrs): Walk the Talk: The Health for All Challenge is a free walk/run open to people of all ages and abilities. Three connected routes will build a bridge between “international” and “local” Geneva and Lac Leman by linking key health, international and touristic landmarks found in the city.
- 20 May (15:00-18:00hrs): Introduction to the World Health Assembly: A Briefing for Delegates, organized by the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute and UN Foundation, will be held at the Graduate Institute/Maison de la Paix.
- 20 May (15:00-16:30hrs):Civil Society Advocacy Briefing will take place at the Ecumenical Center thanks to the NCD Alliance.
The complete set of documents can be found on the WHO website, including a Guide for Delegates.
