Oral health recognized at the UN High-Level Meeting in New York

The Fourth High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and the Promotion of Mental Health and Well-being (HLM4) took place on Thursday, 25 September 2025, in New York, USA. Following more than a year of preparation, planning, and advocacy, FDI participated in this pivotal meeting to strengthen political commitment to the global oral health agenda.

In the lead-up to HLM4, UN Member States engaged in extensive negotiations to develop a new Political Declaration on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being. This Declaration sets out a renewed framework to accelerate global action on NCD prevention and control, as well as on the promotion of mental health and well-being from 2025 onwards.

HLM4 Political Declaration addresses oral health extensively: a historic milestone

Building on the momentum of the successful first-ever WHO-led global oral health meeting, oral health advocates, including the FDI and the International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research (IADR) leveraged HLM4 to call for prioritizing oral health within the global oral health agenda. 

FDI is proud to report that its unrelenting advocacy efforts spanning over a decade paid off. For the first time in a UN meeting on NCDs, oral diseases were explicitly referenced in the Political Declaration of HLM4, appearing in both the preambular (pages 2 and 6) and operative (pages 10 and 11) sections. This marks a historic milestone for the global oral health community and a major step forward in securing recognition of oral health as an integral part of the NCD agenda.

This achievement did not come easily. The initial Zero Draft of the Declaration made no mention of oral health. Through concerted action, FDI mobilized its leadership, National Dental Associations, and a wide network of allies across health organizations, missions, and governments to advocate for inclusion. Thanks to these coordinated efforts, oral health was ultimately recognized in the final text, a testament to the power of sustained, unified advocacy.