Conflicts of interest and the UN high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases

Paul Lincoln a, Patti Rundall b, Bill Jeffery c d, Gigi Kellett e, Tim Lobstein f, Lida Lhotska g, Kate Allen h, Arun Gupta i

Many non-governmental organisations and professional groups are increasingly concerned by the current UN approach to engaging with private-sector and trade associations whose products and marketing contribute to the development of non-communicable diseases (NCD). The UN high-level meeting on NCDs (chiefly cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases) on Sept 19—20, 2011, will present an unprecedented opportunity to address this important but neglected global health issue.1 More than 140 public-interest organisations from around the world have signed up to the Conflict of Interest Declaration,2which has been sent to the President of the General Assembly, and the co-convenors of the high-level meeting—the Ambassadors from Luxembourg and Jamaica./.../