Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes are the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Despite their heavy and growing burden, however, NCDs remain under-appreciated issues in health agenda, attracting less than 2% of all global health funding.

In this article in the Journal of Global Health Perspectives, Dr. Luke Allen of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Population Health explores why NCDs gain so little attention from the global health community and raises discussion about making progress toward bridging this financing-burden gap.

The Young Professionals Chronic Diseases Network (YP-CDN) organized a Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Symposium to launch the NextGen Leaders for NCDs East Africa Workshop -- a training program in collaboration with RTI International and the University of Nairobi to prepare the next generation of NCD leaders in health policy and advocacy, on September 9th, 2016 at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. The main thematic areas covered at the symposium included - NCDs landscape in East Africa, Concerns and priorities of youth across the East African Region, Solutions to improve availability and affordability of essential medicines for NCDs, and Financing for NCDs in East Africa.

“If we want to change the NCD landscape in Africa, we need to start with ourselves”. - Dr. Joseph Kibachio, Director of NCDs, Ministry of Health Kenya

“Financing for NCDs is a very important donor issue”. - Dr. Rachel Nugent, Vice President (NCDs), RTI International

“We need political will and commitment to fight NCDs”. - Emma Wanyonyi, International Institute For Legislative Affairs Kenya

The Young Professionals Chronic Diseases Network (YP-CDN) organized a Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Symposium to launch the NextGen Leaders for NCDs East Africa Workshop -- a training program in collaboration with RTI International and the University of Nairobi to prepare the next generation of NCD leaders in health policy and advocacy, on September 9th, 2016 at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. The main thematic areas covered at the symposium included - NCDs landscape in East Africa, Concerns and priorities of youth across the East African Region, Solutions to improve availability and affordability of essential medicines for NCDs, and Financing for NCDs in East Africa.

“If we want to change the NCD landscape in Africa, we need to start with ourselves”. - Dr. Joseph Kibachio, Director of NCDs, Ministry of Health Kenya

“Financing for NCDs is a very important donor issue”. - Dr. Rachel Nugent, Vice President (NCDs), RTI International

“We need political will and commitment to fight NCDs”. - Emma Wanyonyi, International Institute For Legislative Affairs Kenya

Today marks World Obesity Day, an annual event that highlights one of the key risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Obesity is not limited to only high-income countries like the US and those in Europe. More than two-thirds of obese people now live in developing countries—numbering nearly 900 million people, compared to 557 million in developed countries. 

As an American Cancer Society Global Scholar and having attended the Advocacy and action training in Boston last year, I learnt that financial and geographical factors are major barriers to accessing comprehensive cancer care especially in low- and middle-income countries. Issues pertaining to cancer and cancer advocacy are the same worldwide. The only difference is that some countries are better equipped to tackle cancer than others.

Civil society groups across Africa were disappointed with the lack of prioritization of NCDs in the 2016 WHO AFRO Regional Committee Meeting and issued the following statement.