Preventing the Next Pandemic: The Case for Investing in Circulatory Health - A Global Coalition for Circulatory Health Position Paper.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a continuous and robust impact on world health. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating physical, mental and fiscal impact on the millions of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In addition to older age, people living with CVD, stroke, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, and hypertension are at a particularly greater risk for severe forms of COVID-19 and its consequences. Meta-analysis indicates that hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and thrombotic complications have been observed as both the most prevalent and most dangerous co-morbidities in COVID-19 patients. And despite the nearly incalculable physical, mental, emotional, and economic toll of this pandemic, forthcoming public health figures continue to place cardiovascular disease as the number one cause of death across the globe in the year 2020. The world simply cannot wait for the next pandemic to invest in NCDs. Social determinants of health cannot be addressed only through the healthcare system, but a more holistic multisectoral approach with at its basis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is needed to truly address social and economic inequalities and build more resilient systems. Yet there is reason for hope: the 2019 UN Political Declaration on UHC provides a strong framework for building more resilient health systems, with explicit calls for investment in NCDs and references to fiscal policies that put such investment firmly within reach. By further cementing the importance of addressing circulatory health in a future Framework Convention on Emergency Preparedness, WHO Member States can take concrete steps towards a pandemic-free future. As the chief representatives of the global circulatory health community and patients, the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health calls for increased support for the healthcare workforce, global vaccine equity, embracing new models of care and digital health solutions, as well as fiscal policies on unhealthy commodities to support these investments.

Assessing the solutions to tobacco control's funding gap problem.

Since its entry into force in February 2005, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) has had many significant achievements. It is one of the most widely ratified treaties within the United Nations; its Conference of the Parties has adopted many high-quality implementation guidelines, and implementation of the policy guidance in the treaty and its guidelines have decreased tobacco consumption and prevalence. Despite the effectiveness of these measures, however, FCTC implementation has been highly uneven across countries. A medium-term strategic plan was launched to clearly articulate a small number of priority areas for action in order to accelerate the pace of progress-the Global Strategy to Accelerate Tobacco Control (2019-2025)-but several barriers block its success, including the chronic lack of sustainable, long-term funding. Governments need adequate funds in order to implement FCTC policies and interventions, but many do not have the necessary resources. The global funding gap for tobacco control has been estimated at US$427.4 billion, with no signs of shrinking in the face of the ongoing pandemic. This paper is concerned with the analysis of solutions to the funding gap problem, assessing possibilities according to feasibility, opportunities, and past or potential effectiveness. Existing solutions include Official Development Assistance, FCTC extrabudgetarily funded projects like the FCTC 2030 project and domestic resource mobilisation via tobacco taxation. The paper will also consider new options including pooled funding mechanisms. Ultimately, a combination of solutions must be pursued in order to ensure Parties' national tobacco control budgets are funded in line with FCTC and Global Strategy priorities.