WHO Director-General's opening remarks at virtual launch event - Countdown to 2023: WHO Report on Global Trans Fat Elimination 2022 - 23 January 2023

My friend Tom Frieden,

Dear colleagues and friends,

Good afternoon, happy New Year, and thank you all for joining us.

One year ago, I outlined WHO's five top priorities for the next five years, as we support countries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and get back on track for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The first of those priorities is to promote health, by addressing the root causes of disease in the air people breathe, the conditions in which they live and work, and the food they eat.

Health isn't created in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. It's created in homes, streets, schools, restaurants and supermarkets.

That's why eliminating trans fat from the global food supply is so important.

Trans fat has no known health benefit, but carries huge health risks.

Every year, up to 500,000 deaths are associated with cardiovascular disease caused by trans fat.

Eliminating industrially produced trans fat is therefore a cost effective and feasible way of reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases.

The report we are launching today is another milestone on the road we have been travelling since 2018, when Tom and I first launched REPLACE, a step-by-step guide to support countries to eliminate industrially produced trans fat from the global food supply by 2023.

At the time, only 550 million people were protected by policies prohibiting the use of industrially produced trans fat, mostly in high-income countries in Europe and the Americas.

Today, 43 countries, accounting for one third of the world's population, have implemented such policies.

Recently, lower-middle income countries have been leading the way.

Last year, India became the first lower-middle income country to adopt best-practice policy.

Bangladesh, Philippines and Ukraine have all passed policies that will come into force in in the coming years, and Nigeria and Sri Lanka are expected to pass their policies soon.

Among upper-middle income countries, Argentina passed a best-practice policy in August last year, and we expect Mexico to follow shortly.

Unfortunately, we are yet to see low-income countries adopting these measures.

But there is no reason they can't. Policies prohibiting trans fat can be implemented even in low resource settings, and can deliver huge benefits to the health of people, societies and economies.

Like so many other areas, progress against trans fat was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

And yet the pandemic has illustrated why eliminating trans fat is so important.

People with conditions linked with trans fat, such as heart disease, are at more risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19.

Protecting people from these harmful substances is therefore important not just for protecting against heart disease, but also for protecting against the impact of epidemics and pandemics.

The clock is ticking. We have less than a year left to reach our ambitious target of eliminating trans fat from the global food supply.

And 5 billion people remain unprotected. It's urgent that those countries that are yet to implement best practice policy do so as soon as possible.

Today, we have three specific asks:

First, I urge leaders in governments to take urgent action to implement best practice policy for trans fat elimination.

WHO remains committed to supporting all countries in this effort.

Just as we validate countries for the elimination of malaria and other communicable diseases, we also plan to validate countries that have implemented a policy framework to achieve trans fat elimination.

We encourage all countries with policies and enforcement mechanisms in place to apply for the WHO Validation Programme, starting this year.

Second, I call on the food industry to help us achieve our global goal.

By replacing industrially produced trans fat with healthier fats and oils, food manufacturers, the food service sector and suppliers of oils and fats can close the gaps where national legislation is not yet in place.

These companies could have a significant impact on global health.

There are encouraging signs. In 2019, the International Food and Beverage Alliance, representing some of the world's largest food companies, committed to aligning itself with WHO's target to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fat from the global food supply.

More recently, in December 2021, Cargill, a major supplier of edible oils, promised that 100% of its products will comply with WHO best practice policy by the end of this year.

These products are used throughout the food chain, and we urge other suppliers of oils and fats to follow this lead.

And third, I call on civil society organizations in every country to advocate for the elimination of trans fat, and to keep governments and companies accountable for their promises.

My thanks to my friend Dr Tom Frieden and his team at Resolve to Save Lives for the instrumental role that you play in advancing key policy changes in countries. Thank you so much, Tom.

Food should be a source of health, not a cause of disease.

Trans fat should have no place in food. It's time to get rid of it, once and for all.

I thank you.

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