Tuesday 20 September. Day two
7.10 Traffic is gridlocked near the UN building because so many streets are shut. Obama hits the UN today—not unfortunately the NCD meeting. more…

Monday 19 September. Day one

7.10 I arrive at the junction of 47 Street East and 2nd Avenue to meet the Pepsico people who are holding a breakfast meeting in the UN dining room. I meet several cronies that I haven’t seen for a long while and reflect traitorously that global health is maybe like medical ethics or medical history, places where ageing health figures go before they disappear altogether. more…

Saturday 17 September. Day minus two

17.20 Arrive in New York. A bigger queue than ever at immigration. Do they really want visitors?
After an hour I reach the booth.
“When were you in Pakistan?”
“Just over a year ago.”
“What do you do?”
“I run a programme in developing countries working on heart disease and diabetes.”
“Is Pakistan a developing country?” more…

What’s the mood among delegates on the eve of the UN summit on non-communicable diseases as they gather in hotel bars and the confusion of side events in New York City?

Well, earlier in the day I went on a hike through Central Park with about 50 others in an event organised by the NCD Alliance to publicise that 300 million people are now caught up in the global diabetes epidemic. We waved helium balloons and cars honked in support from 5th Avenue. My walking partner was Allison Schauwecker, a graduate of international relations now working for a company which makes a weekly television show on US cable television for diabetic patients. It pulls in millions of viewers every week. Allison, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 25, carried a small bag of sweets “in case I go low.”  more…

After months of negotiations, lobbying from industry and NGOs and public health experts, international governments have finally agreed the political declaration that will form the spine of the UN’s summit on non-communicable diseases later this month.

The BMJ has seen a copy of the final declaration and for those who have been involved there are some highlights, lowlights and one or two surprises. more…

Things are not going well with the UN high level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that will take place in New York in a month’s time. The aim was to have completed negotiations on the outcomes document before the UN closed for its summer break, but this wasn’t achieved.

The member states causing the most difficulties are the European Union, which is negotiating as a block led by Poland, and the United States, with Canada and the Russian Federation also being unhelpful. With stock markets crashing and the Euro looking very vulnerable, it’s easy to see why resources are one of the sticking points. It seems unlikely to me that rich countries will sign up to any serious commitment to funding. They might sign a document that says something like “continue to explore the possibility of…..,” in other words, no commitment at all. more…