HLM4: was it worth it? - it's up to us
So much time, energy and hope has been poured into preparation for the High-level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health at the United Nations...
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Writing
Latest health-related blog
Recent highlights
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WHO, Reporting on the World’s Biggest Killers: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering Noncommunicable Diseases (2025) - draft and editing
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International Alliance for Diabetes Action, 5th Symposium on Diabetes in Humanitarian Crises (2025) - rapporteur and report author
World Health Organization
WHO Geneva
Lead author, developed in close consultation with WHO colleagues
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2025: Brochure on the FCTC 2030 initiative, for the WHO FCTC Secretariat (forthcoming)
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2025: WHO, Reporting on the World’s Biggest Killers: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering Noncommunicable Diseases (2025)
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2025: Saving Lives, Spending Less: The Global Investment Case for NCDs (3rd edition)
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2022: Invisible Numbers: The True Extent of NCDs and What to Do About Them
WHO/Europe
Major report:
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2019: Monitoring and Restricting Digital Marketing of Unhealthy Products to Children and Adolescents
Rapporteur reports:
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2025: European Alcohol Health Alliance symposium (not in public domain)
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2024: Videogames and NCDs (meeting in 2021)
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2018: meeting of WHO/Europe Collaborating Centres on the risk factors and surveillance of NCDs
NCD Alliance
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2024: Lead author of Neglected and in Crisis: NCDs as a Priority in Humanitarian Settings and accompanying case studies (Kenya, the MENA region and Ukraine)
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2025, 2020 and 2017: Lead rapportur at NCD Alliance Global Forums, including writing official daily blogs and orchestrating team of rapporteurs
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2017: Tackling Noncommunicable Diseases in Workplace Settings in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Call to Action and Practical Guidance, which I was invited to launch at the Global NCD Alliance Forum in the United Arab Emirates in 2017.
NCDs in humanitarian settings
See also peer-reviewed articles, listed below
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2025: Rapporteur of IADA's 5th Symposium on Diabetes in Humanitarian Crises
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2025: Consultant and rapporteur of IFRC Global Advocacy Bootcamp on NCDs in Humanitarian Settings
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2025: Danish Red Cross, 'The Longer the Crisis, the Greater the Need': Messages from People with Lived Experiences of NCDs in Four Humanitarian Settings - advocacy document, the culmination of interviews in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia and Syria
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2024: Rapporteur of the WHO Global High-level Technical Meeting NCDs in Humanitarian Settings
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2023: Consultancy and rapporteuring of Danish Red Cross meeting: Finding Financing: Sustainable Resourcing for
NCDs in Humanitarian Settings -
2020/21: Supported a roundtable of the IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, authored Scoping Report: Integrating Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Within Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Care in Humanitarian Response and coauthored peer-reviewed article
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2018: Worked with the Danish Red Cross, NCDFREE and the ICRC to develop and rapporteur a 'bootcamp' meeting of young professionals and seasoned experts on NCDs in humanitarian settings: final report.
UK Working Group on NCDs
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2024: NCDs: A Global Health and Development Priority – A New Briefing: a Message to the New UK Government
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2019: Roundtable summary: Acting Early, Saving Lives: Prevention and Promotion as Key Aspects of UHC (roundtable with Chatham House)
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2018: Briefing paper Non-communicable Diseases: A Global Health and Development Priority (for Parliamentary event)
Work for other organisations based outside the UK
Access to Nutrition Initiative (Netherlands)
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2022: First ever UK Retailer Index 2022, an assessment of major UK supermarkets' actions on nutrition and health
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2020-1: Series of four major reports on the global food industry and Covid-19, during the first 18 months of the pandemic, including:
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A Country-level Response - India, Mexico and Nigeria (February 2021)
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The Time for Change (July 2021)
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VicHealth (Australia)
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2020: Under the Radar: Harmful Industries' Digital Marketing to Children (part of the response to Covid-19)
Work for UK organisations
Obesity Health Alliance
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2021: Turning the Tide: A 10-year Healthy Weight Strategy, (lead author) - the culmination of a year-long series of expert meetings and collaborative drafting process
World Obesity
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2023: An Economic Imperative: Catalysing Funding to Address Obesity (a discussion paper for the Global Obesity Forum)
British Heart Foundation
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2025: Bridging Hearts: Addressing Inequalities in Cardiovascular Health and Care (copy-editor)
World Cancer Research Fund International
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2023: Building Momentum 4: Establishing Robust Policies to Promote Physical Activity in Primary Healthcare
The Food Foundation
Wilton Park
Global Action Plan
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Interviews and report on the private sector's response to National Clean Air Day
C3 Collaborating for Health
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White paper on local third-sector action to improve young people's chances of a healthy life in the UK
Peer-reviewed journal articles
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'Non-communicable diseases in emergencies: time for action on converging crises' (2025) The Lancet 406(10509): 1197–2000 (E. Ansbro, K. Cooper et al.)
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Not an "either/or": integrating mental health and psychosocial support within non-communicable disease prevention and care in humanitarian response' (2021) Journal of Global Health (B.. Gyawali, M.C. Haraysm, S. Hassan, K. Cooper et al.)
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'Obesity, SDGs and ROOTS: a framework for impact' (2021) Curr Obes Rep 10: 54–60 (J. Ralston, K. Cooper, J. Powys)
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'Obesity: a ghost at the feast of the Sustainable Development Goals' (2020) Curr Obes Rep 9: 470–8 (T. Lobstein and K. Cooper)
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'Dystopia, utopia - or somewhere in between: Healthy City Design 2019, London, 14–15 October' (2020) Cities & Health 4(1): 50–3 (K. Cooper)
Blogs
In addition to my own blog musings on this site and my ever-growing library of cycling blogs, I have been commissioned to write for others, including:
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Daily update blogs for the NCD Alliance Global Forum, including this wrap-up from the final day of the 2025 Forum: Advocate, agitate and communicate: stand up, be vocal, and be strong in our uncertain world
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Obesity and the SDGs: an opportunity hidden in plain sight (World Obesity) 24 September 2019
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Brockley through a new lens: #Brockley365 (contribution to A Sense of Place, Catherine Max Consulting) 24 September 2017
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Air pollution - a tale of two cities (NCD Alliance) 21 September 2017
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Human rights and NCDs: integrated and indivisible (NCD Alliance) 13 July 2017
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Physical activity: the miracle drug (C3) 10 May 2017
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Green reads: Talking Climate - From Research to Practice in Public Engagement (book review for NESSE - the Network of Early-Career Sustainable Scientists and Engineers) 10 March 2017
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Using digital data to drive behaviour change in local communities (C3) 8 February 2017
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