In a move that has stirred international debate, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared on Thursday that the United States would not endorse a United Nations declaration focused on chronic diseases. His rationale centered on claims that the declaration overlooked “the most pressing health issues” and, more broadly, clashed with the Trump administration’s opposition to policies it perceives as advocating for abortion and “radical gender ideology.”
Kennedy delivered these controversial remarks during a UN meeting dedicated to the prevention and control of chronic illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. However, he did not specify which health concerns he felt had been neglected by the declaration.
Notably, the UN declaration document itself contains no explicit references to reproductive rights or gender ideology. The term “gender” appears solely in the context of distinct health challenges faced by women.
Despite this significant dissent from the United States, the declaration is widely anticipated to gain approval from the majority of the UN’s 193 member states next month.
President Trump, a vocal critic of the UN, had previously initiated America’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization earlier this year. This decision was based on allegations that the WHO mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic and failed to implement “urgently needed reforms.”
Public health advocates expressed their bewilderment and dismay at Kennedy’s comments, which were also shared on social media. Many observed that the UN’s ambitious objectives for reducing noncommunicable diseases seemed to align perfectly with the Health Secretary’s own “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, which emphasizes chronic illness, childhood obesity, and the impact of ultra-processed foods.
“The health secretary’s comments were disturbing, misleading and full of contradictions,” stated Paula Johns, executive director of ACT Health Promotion, a Brazilian advocacy group, in an interview following Kennedy’s speech. “He claims the U.S. wants international collaboration on the issue of chronic diseases but fails to suggest how that could happen. Instead, he says the U.S. would rather walk away from the U.N.”
The declaration enjoys broad support from global health experts, despite earlier criticisms that some recommendations in an initial draft were softened due to industry influence. These revisions included the removal of proposals for high taxes and graphic warning labels on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages to curb demand. All direct mentions of sugary drinks were also excised from the final draft.
In many aspects, Kennedy’s articulation of the severe threat posed by chronic illness resonated with the UN declaration’s own emphasis.
“Chronic disease has more than doubled in a single generation. Millions of children now lose healthy years before they reach adulthood,” Kennedy remarked. “This crisis does not stop at America’s borders.”
However, he asserted that the UN General Assembly had overstepped its authority, and that the United States could not endorse the promotion of abortion and “gender ideology.”
“We believe in the biological reality of sex,” Kennedy affirmed. “As President Trump has said, global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not provide a response when asked for clarification regarding Kennedy’s specific complaints about health issues allegedly ignored by the declaration.
Health experts warn that threatening to abandon the UN process will only exacerbate U.S. isolation on critical global health challenges. The White House has already taken a solitary stance on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, a position highlighted recently as world leaders convened to discuss accelerating climate change initiatives.
“The U.S. seems to be trying to sabotage the process, but we don’t see how they can succeed at this point,” noted Alison Cox, policy director at the NCD Alliance, an advocacy organization. “It is really shortsighted and reckless in the face of an urgent global crisis.”
Ms. Cox highlighted that the current declaration emerged from a months-long negotiation process involving civil society groups, health experts, and delegates from member states. “It’s imperfect but still an important achievement for global health,” she added.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, has been a staunch proponent of aggressive measures to combat noncommunicable diseases, which are responsible for 17 million premature deaths annually.
In recent months, Dr. Tedros has championed a separate WHO initiative urging countries to increase taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by 50 percent over the next decade. He projects that these taxes could generate an estimated $1 trillion for government healthcare efforts over 10 years and prevent 50 million premature deaths over a 50-year period.
“Health does not start in clinics and hospitals,” Dr. Tedros emphasized in his remarks preceding Kennedy’s appearance. “It starts in homes, schools, streets and workplaces, in the food people eat, the products they consume, the water they drink, the air they breathe and the conditions in which they live and work.”