76th World Health Assembly

The Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 21–30 May 2023.

Proceedings will be webcast live from this web page. Simultaneous interpretation is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Events

Inter-ministerial dialogue: 'Essential medicines under international control: ensuring equitable and affordable access to and safe use for all'

Tuesday, 23 May | 13:00 - 14:00 | Hotel President Wilson, 47 Quai Wilson, Geneva

To join in person or online, please RSVP by 22 May to Tamara Garcia (tamara.garcia[@]globalcommissionondrugs.org) specifying whether you will be attending in-person or online.

Co-organised by the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO)

The goal of this Ministerial Dialogue is to provide a space where member States (in this case, Ministries of Health) can present and discuss progress and shortfalls in their national policies, while providing examples and noting promising practices in the field of access to and safe use of essential medicines under international control. The dialogue will also provide a means to check in on global progress and problems, while at the same time aiming to identify and discuss concrete collaborative solutions.

Responding to the global crisis of overdose

Friday, 26 May | 11:00 - 13:00 (CEST) | Hybrid event | UNAIDS Secretariat 20, Avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland in the Kofi Annan Room

Registration :Responding to the Global Crisis of Overdose (deadline: 19 May 2023)

Virtual Participation: Please RSVP to giavana.margo[@]opensocietyfoundations.org to receive a Zoom link

Co-organised by the Open Society Foundations and UNAIDS

Opioid overdose, already a major cause of mortality in many countries, is increasing alarmingly across the world. A key factor in death rates everywhere is the presence of fentanyl and other strong synthetic opioids in the illicit drug supply, coupled with increasing availability and decreasing costs for all drugs. Globally, overdose mortality data is often incomplete and does not tell the whole story. However, many signs suggest this crisis will expand across the world in the coming years.

Overdose mortality has long term global, economic, social, cultural, and political implications – like AIDS – and similar global health leadership is needed in framing the response. Most opiate overdose deaths are easily avoidable with the right intervention, and there much evidence to support known interventions. We need the political will to bring these solutions to scale.

This event brings together an expert panel to review global trends on overdose and to discuss what progress has been made in the past decade on overdose intervention and response. It will provide a forum to discuss progress and challenges within national policies, while learning from innovative interventions from multiple countries.