About us

The WHO Independent High-level Commission was established by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to develop bold and practical recommendations, and identify new opportunities for countries to accelerate progress on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) towards SDG target 3.4 of a one-third reduction in premature NCD deaths and enhanced mental health and well-being.

The Commission was co-chaired by Tabaré Vázquez, former President of Uruguay; Maithripala Sirisena, former President of Sri Lanka; President Sauli Niinistö of Finland; Veronika Skvortsova, former Minister of Healthcare of the Russian Federation; and Sania Nishtar, former Federal Minister of Pakistan. The Members of the Commission included heads of state and ministers, global health leaders, and entrepreneurs from various backgrounds, experiences, and regions. The Commission produced two reports – “Time to Deliver” and “It’s Time to Walk the Talk” – in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The WHO Global NCD Platform currently coordinates global, regional, and country-level implementation of the main recommendations of the Commission.

Highlights of the Commission recommendations include:

• Promoting policy coherence and coordination for the development of whole-of-government, health-in-all-policies approaches and engagement of stakeholders in whole-of-society action in line with national NCD and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) action plans and targets, including through the establishment of national multisectoral and multi-stakeholder mechanisms.
• Strengthening resource mobilization efforts for NCDs at national, regional, and global levels.