[In Focus] Integrating mental health and non-communicable disease care: from declarations to practice

In September, 2025, member states finalised the text for the first UN political declaration on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health. There were targets on access to essential medicines, national strategies, NCD and mental health surveillance systems, and financial protections. However, the proposed target for taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, which appeared in an early draft of the declaration, was removed from the final version. A recommendation on front-of-pack labelling did survive the negotiations, as did one on protecting “children from the harmful impact of food marketing, including digital marketing”.