Five global cities have been recognised for their achievements in preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries.
The five winning cities are - Athens, Bengaluru, Mexico City, Montevideo and Vancouver.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of WHO said, "The five cities being recognised today demonstrate that mayors can drive powerful progress to protect the health of their citizens.”
Athens, Greece won for increasing access to the opioid overdose reversal agent, naloxone, at community-based organisations and among healthcare professionals.
Bengaluru, India for their efforts in tobacco control, specifically, reducing smoking in public places and improving compliance with existing mandates on public smoking bans.
Mexico City, Mexico for improving road safety and safe and active mobility by launching a bike path on a busy road that led to a 275% increase in cyclists.
Montevideo, Uruguay for establishing nutritional standards for the preparation and sale of food in government agency offices and some public universities.
Vancouver, Canada for making public health data more inclusive and accessible by launching an online public health data tool that tracks population health indicators.
The Summit brought together mayors and officials from over 50 major cities to discuss urgent public health concerns and best practices that save lives.
Noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases and injuries, are responsible for over 80% of all deaths globally.