The United Nations Political Declaration on NCDs and mental health was – at last – adopted by the UN in mid-December 2025, almost three months after the High-level Meeting, with 175 Member States in favour, two against (no surprises that these were the United States and Argentina) and one abstention. An article written by the UK Working Group and published in Cancer Control 2025 in November 2025 sets out the process of drafting the Political Declaration (with the negotiations – between Member States – taking place largely behind closed doors) and picks out some highlights (and low-lights) of the resulting final draft.
The article’s lead author is Katy Cooper (the chair of the UKWG), with coauthors from Age International, Cancer Research UK, the Children’s Palliative Care Network, the UK and Ireland Global Cancer Network, United for Global Mental Health, WCRF International and the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance.
A follow-up article is planned for 2026, which will address the first year of the latest Political Declaration: how is it being used and what impact is it having in the challenging times in which we live?
The 2025 article is available here and below.
UK Working Group on NCDs 