World leaders at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly have adopted a landmark political declaration to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and promote mental health through a fully integrated approach. The declaration, agreed upon ahead of the fourth high-level meeting on NCDs and mental health held on 25 September 2025, represents the first global commitment addressing NCDs and mental health together and sets specific targets to accelerate progress by 2030.
NCDs are the leading causes of premature death, claiming 18 million lives each year, while mental health conditions affect over a billion people worldwide. Preventable risk factors such as unhealthy diets, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and air pollution contribute to both NCDs and mental health challenges. These conditions are rising in every country, impacting public health, productivity, and sustainable economic growth, making urgent, coordinated action necessary.
The declaration introduces three global “fast-track” outcome targets for 2030: 150 million fewer tobacco users, 150 million more people with controlled hypertension, and 150 million more people with access to mental health care. It also sets measurable national system targets, including widespread adoption of policy, legislative, regulatory, and fiscal measures; availability of essential medicines and technologies in primary health care facilities; financial protection for NCD and mental health services; operational multisectoral national plans; and robust surveillance and monitoring systems.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted that these bold targets reflect Member States’ commitment to changing the trajectory of NCDs and mental health, aiming to deliver health, well-being, and opportunity for all. The declaration is the most comprehensive to date, incorporating lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing broader NCD areas such as oral health, lung health, childhood cancer, liver and kidney diseases, and rare diseases. It also recognizes environmental determinants like air pollution, clean cooking, lead exposure, and hazardous chemicals, as well as emerging digital harms, including social media exposure, excessive screen time, and misinformation.
The declaration strengthens regulatory focus on e-cigarettes, novel tobacco products, unhealthy food marketing to children, front-of-pack labeling, and trans fat elimination. Its commitments emphasize equity, considering the needs of people living with NCDs and mental health conditions, climate-vulnerable populations, Small Island Developing States, and those in humanitarian settings.
Acknowledging global economic challenges, the declaration urges countries to secure predictable and sustained funding through increased domestic financing, international partnerships, and coordinated multilateral frameworks. It positions NCDs and mental health as central to sustainable development and social justice and calls for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, engaging civil society, youth, persons with disabilities, and those with lived experience.
The declaration builds on previous commitments and provides a framework for accountability, with the UN Secretary-General reporting progress toward the targets by 2030. WHO and other UN agencies will support Member States in translating these commitments into national action to ensure measurable and sustained impact, advancing a healthier, more equitable, and prosperous global future.
