HLM4 NCD&MH positions
See below the GAPA policy positions through the process to develop the Political Declaration of the Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.
Update 8 August 2025
GAPA statement – 3rd draft Political Declaration UN HLM NCDs and MH
The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA) is gravely concerned by the content of the current draft Political Declaration to be adopted at the upcoming United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health in September. GAPA urges Member States to make use of any opportunity to address the concerns included in the policy brief.
The negotiations for the Political Declaration for the upcoming UN HLM NCDs&MH ended in the last days of July without consensus. The Co-facilitators provided a 3rd draft on 4 August. It went directly into ‘silent procedures’ until Thursday 7 August, but the silence has been broken, and we urge Member States to make use of any opportunity to address the concerns below:
Update 29 July
As the negotiations for the Political Declaration from the upcoming Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health (HLM4) is drawing towards the end, GAPA expresses grave concern that the outcome document will be watered down and will put profits ahead of public health, following pressure from the commercial actors, including the alcohol industry.
The latest draft has changes which suggest a push back from commercial actors such as removing ‘commercial’ and ‘structural’ from determinants of health and removing the recommendation to countries to counter the marketing of unhealthy products.
Changes to the brief section on alcohol remove reference to the best buys and the need to accelerate implementation of the WHO Global alcohol action plan. Given the lack of progress and likely failure of many countries to meet the UN target of a 20 % reduction in alcohol per capita consumption by 2030 we must question where this development is coming from. These references need to be included in the Political Declaration.
Similarly the targets on health taxes are under pressure. Many countries have excise taxes in place on alcohol but these are very low. The emphasis of the target needs to be on increasing the taxes. GAPA is also concerned by the weakened protection of policies from industry influence that is there in the latest draft.
Furthermore, GAPA shares the concerns by the NCD Alliance that Political Declaration is under threat and the statement by Vital Strategies that Urges Governments to Prioritize Health and Economies, Reject Weakening of the 2025 UN Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health.
Below is the GAPA Policy Position that points to the need for urgent action.
The upcoming Fourth United Nations High Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health (HLM4) will follow those held in 2011, 2014 and 2018. When High Level officials from Member States convene in New York in September there is an urgent need for action to reduce the global burden of NCDs and Mental Health.
The negotiations towards a Political Declaration of the Fourth UN High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable diseases and Mental Health will progress through July 2025. These proposed comments and suggestions from the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA) refers to specific sections of the Zero Draft document but with relevance for later iterations as well.
GAPA Policy Position
In the outset GAPA issued a set of policy recommendations for the HLM4 and in the following we also have some specific key advocacy points in response to the Zero Draft Political Declaration of the HLM4. GAPA also supports the positions promoted by the NCD Alliance in response to the proposals of Member States in the second compilation text regarding the need to retain the language about ‘commercial determinants of health’ and ‘conflict of interest’ as will be reflected in the specific proposals below.
GAPA urges Member States to take these positions into consideration and secure a forward looking outcome document that will lead to action to reduce the global burden of NCDs.