Delegates agree key resolutions during World Health Assembly

GENEVA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Every year a total of 4.3 million deaths occur from exposure to indoor air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are attributable to outdoor air pollution, according to the latest figures released during the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Friday.

Delegates to WHA on Friday agreed a series of resolutions and decisions on air pollution, chemicals, the health workforce, childhood obesity, violence, noncommunicable diseases, and so on.

As to the air-pollution resolution, delegates welcomed a new road map for responding to the adverse health effects of air pollution, which outlines actions to be taken between 2016 and 2019.

The Health Assembly also approved a resolution on the health sector's role in the sound management of chemicals, since the poor management of chemicals often contributes significantly to the global burden of disease and death, particularly in developing countries.

WHA figures showed that worldwide, 1.3 million lives are lost every year due to exposures to chemicals, such as lead and pesticides.

The assembly also agreed Friday to adopt the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health, which aims to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring equitable access to health workers in every country.

The global economy is projected to create around 40 million new health sector jobs by 2030, mostly in middle- and high-income countries, and there will be a projected shortage of 18 million health workers needed to achieve the SDGs in low- and lower-middle income countries, the WHA resolution said.

WHA delegates on Friday considered the report of the Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, which says hat in 2014, an estimated 41 million children under five years of age were affected by overweight or obesity, and 48 percent of these lived in Asia and 25 percent in Africa.

They also agreed a resolution on the World Health Organization (WHO) global plan of action on violence, which is designed to help countries strengthen action to address interpersonal violence, in particular violence against women, girls and children.

"One-in-four children has been physically abused, one-in-five girls has been sexually abused, and one-in-three women has experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence at some point in her lifetime," the resolution noted.

WHO members during the assembly also reviewed the progress made by countries in addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) on Friday.

According to the latest figures, globally the probability of dying between the ages of 30 and 70 from a major NCD has dropped slightly, but significant global increases are witnessed in the prevalence of obesity and overweight.

The WHA, WHO's main decision-making body and being convened annually for about a week, is supposed to set policies on a broad range of high-priority health issues.

This year's meeting will end on May 28 and is the biggest to date, bringing together some 3,500 people. Some 21 resolutions are expected to be discussed by delegations from WHO's 194 members.