Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly – Daily Update: 30 May 2024

On 29 May 2024, delegates at the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly adopted the new 2024 Global Action Plan and Monitoring Framework for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).–The 2030 Plan provides clear actions, indicators and targets to support Member States in improving IPC actions at national and plant level.

Recent history has shown how epidemics like Ebola and COVID-19 spread in communities can be dramatically amplified in health care facilities when there are gaps in IPC measures. Healthcare-acquired infections, including those exhibiting antimicrobial resistance (AMR), cause avoidable patient suffering and increase the burden on healthcare systems.

IPC interventions such as hand hygiene and ensuring access to high-quality water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services can reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by up to 70% and have a high economic return on investment.

Delegates reiterated their commitment to strengthening the IPC programme, stressing that the action plan will require strong political commitment, dedicated funding and sustainable implementation.

The plan will be supported by a detailed implementation guide and other resources, including costing tools. Full implementation of the global action plan can make it possible to achieve the goal of everyone having access to health care that is safe from HAIs by 2030.

The WHO Secretariat is required to report to the Assembly every two years from 2025 on the progress of implementation.

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Countries pledge to restore lost progress in maternal, newborn and child survival

Alarmed by the stagnation of progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, countries today adopted a key Resolution committing to specific actions to prevent the deaths of women, babies and children.

Annually, 287,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth, 4.9 million children die from mostly preventable causes before the age of five birthday, and stillbirths are 1.9 million. Progress in reducing maternal deaths he paused since 2016, while progress in infant and young child survival has lost pace.

This new resolution commits to addressing the leading causes of maternal and child death, especially in the hardest-hit countries, while improving access to maternal, sexual and reproductive health services and comprehensive child health services through stronger primary health care. It further highlights the need to expand access to emergency services, including emergency obstetric care and small and sick newborn units, which are key to managing complications associated with prematurity and other leading causes of neonatal death.

The resolution emphasized that health systems must be able to provide quality, safe and efficient care through well-stocked institutions, well-trained and motivated health workers, and safe water and sanitary conditions. The resolution also emphasizes the need for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services, including family planning, that support women's health.

At current rates of progress, more than 4 out of 5 countries are unlikely to meet the SDGs on maternal mortality; 64 countries for infant mortality; and 59 countries for under-five mortality. Current rates of decline in maternal mortality would need to accelerate ninefold, and infant and under-five mortality fourfold to achieve these goals. The member states undertook to report on this resolution every two years.

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• A77/A/CONF./5 Accelerate progress towards reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality in order to achieve targets 3.1 and 3.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals
• A77/A/CONF./5 Add.1 Financial and administrative implications of resolutions proposed for adoption at the Health Assembly for the Secretariat

A new resolution on antimicrobial resistance to mobilize action 

Today, delegates approved a resolution to accelerate national and global responses to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), ahead of the second UN General Assembly (HLM) high-level meeting on AMR to be held in September 2024.

AMR is an urgent global health and socioeconomic challenge. An estimated 1.3 million global deaths per year can be attributed to drug-resistant bacterial infections. AMR threatens people of all ages, in all regions, with low- and middle-income countries most affected.

Within the broad concept of a people-centred approach, the resolution welcomes the WHO's strategic and operational priorities for addressing drug-resistant bacterial infections in the human health sector (2025-2035), with four strategic priorities: infection prevention; universal access to affordable, high-quality diagnostics and appropriate treatment of infections; strategic information, science and innovation; and effective management and financing of the human health sector response to AMR.

The resolution encourages Member States to implement these priorities and implement a core package of country-level interventions through their National Action Plans against ADR. Areas of focus include governance, financing, implementation and monitoring of national action plans and the development of a concise and action-oriented consensus-based political declaration for adoption at the HLM.

The resolution also requests the Director-General to provide updated status and guidance to countries in preparation for the HLM on AMR. WHO is committed to providing technical support to accelerate national responses to AMR and to report on progress in implementing the resolution.

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Leaders discuss how artificial intelligence is changing health

Today's Strategic Roundtable considered the opportunities, risks and governance in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of healthcare, while upholding the principles of justice, equity, inclusion, security, privacy, transparency and accountability.

“Some say AI will unlock the 4th industrial revolution,” noted WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros, with AI “changing the way we live and work, with major health consequences.”

Speakers drew on their experiences in healthcare, academia, government, and the regulatory and private technology sectors to address issues such as partnerships, combining public health expertise with private innovation and regulation, to boldly but responsibly support adoption and innovation. AI technologies. The role of WHO's reliable leadership in shaping a just digital future and its guidelines in informing the implementation of artificial intelligence projects was also highlighted.

The discussion highlighted the importance of putting people and the public interest first when using AI for health. Concerns were raised about strengthening existing inequalities, but there was also hope that AI could help overcome current limitations by helping to reach marginalized communities and people in remote areas and increasing the capabilities of time-strapped health workers.

Next steps will be taken in the following areas: renewed Global Strategy on Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence (2026-2030); operationalization of the Global Initiative for Artificial Intelligence for Health (GI-AI4H); and allocation of responsibilities among stakeholders, including: mobilizing resources to support WHO and Member States in building consensus, developing guidelines and providing technical support for the responsible use of AI to strengthen health systems.

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