The United Nations General Assembly adopted a political declaration on noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, and mental health on Monday in New York, with 175 countries voting in favor despite strong objections from the U.S. government.
The vote took place nearly three months after it failed to reach a consensus approval at the fourth high-level meeting on NCDs in September. The U.S. criticized the draft, arguing it “pushes destructive gender ideology” and promotes abortion rights — though the document does not include any language on the latter.
The U.S. repeated the same arguments during the meeting on Monday, and questioned why a resolution to adopt the declaration was put forward by the 80th U.N. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock before member states.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
