PHM Background and Commentary on Items before WHO Executive Board 156 February 2025

This analysis and commentary on selected items coming before the WHO Executive Board in February 2025 has been prepared by the People’s Health Movement as part of WHO Watch, a civil society initiative directed to the democratisation of global health governance (more about WHO Watch).

This Commentary is produced through PHM’s team of policy analysts in consultation with a global network of consultants. The commentary is designed to be read in conjunction with the Secretariat’s documents; it does not duplicate the material covered in the official documents.

This PDF version of the PHM Analysis and Commentary is taken from PHM’s Tracker page for EB156 which provides direct links to Secretariat papers as well as PHM’s Item Commentaries.

This integrated version of PHM’s commentary is published 30 January 2025. For some agenda items there is no PHM Comment yet; in some cases because the papers were late; in other cases because our teams are still working on them. Users are invited to check on the EB156 Tracker page for PHM commentaries not included in this resource. They will be published on the Tracker as they are finalised.

Your comment and feedback would be most welcome. Write to [email protected].

PHM thanks our team of analysts and our wider network of consultants.

For ongoing access to WHO Watch alerts, updates and commentary, subscribe to the Tracker Alert (subscribe here).

Download the Background and Commentary on EB156 Items

Contents
Item 6 UHC ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Item 7 Follow up of 3rd HLM at UNGA on NCDs ............................................................................. 5
Item 8: Mental health and social connection ..................................................................................... 7
Item 9(i): Communicable diseases: meningitis ............................................................................... 11
Item 9(ii): Communicable disease: leptospirosis and skin infections ............................................. 14
Item 10 Substandard and falsified medicines ................................................................................. 16
Item 11 Standardised nomenclature for medical devices ............................................................... 20
Item 13 Draft traditional medicine strategy ..................................................................................... 22
Item 15 WHO’s work in emergencies .............................................................................................. 25
Item 16 Implementation of resolution WHA75.11 (2022) Ukraine War .......................................... 26
Item 17 Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem,
and in the occupied Syrian Golan ................................................................................................... 27
Item 18 Universal health and preparedness review ....................................................................... 30
Item 20 The impact of chemicals, waste and pollution on human health ....................................... 33
Item 21 Updated road map for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects
of air pollution .................................................................................................................................. 36
Item 22: Climate change and health ............................................................................................... 38
Item 23.1 Financing and implementation of the Programme budget 2024–2025 .......................... 44
Item 23.2 Proposed PB26-27 .......................................................................................................... 46
Item 24.3(i) Global strategies or action plans that are scheduled to expire within one year:
Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery ................................................................... 48
Item 24.3(ii) Global strategies or action plans that are scheduled to expire within one year:
Global Strategy on Digital Health .................................................................................................... 51
Item 26.3: Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and
Response......................................................................................................................................... 52