{"id":5845,"date":"2025-02-15T08:24:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T07:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forum.ncdalliance.org\/?p=5845"},"modified":"2025-02-15T08:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T07:28:08","slug":"global-ncda-forum-day-2-vibrant-conversations-serious-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forum.ncdalliance.org\/fr\/2025-02-15\/global-ncda-forum-day-2-vibrant-conversations-serious-discussion\/","title":{"rendered":"Global NCDA Forum Day 2: Vibrant conversations, serious discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This year\u2019s Global NCDA Forum has an infectious joie de vivre. This is undoubtedly fostered by the Kigali Convention Centre itself, with its helpful staff, excellent facilities and numerous rooms, ranging from small meeting pods (always full of people chatting, emailing and charging devices) through to the 2,000+-seater auditorium. And we have all been treated to wonderful singing, dancing and drumming at both the opening ceremony, and the opening reception.<\/p>\n

There is a vibrancy and enthusiasm to the proceedings that marks this Forum out as something special \u2013 and also makes it easier to network and build relaxed and fruitful connections.<\/p>\n

But we are all very aware of the serious side of our time here: there is so much that remains to be done to prevent or delay illness and death from NCDs and mental health conditions. In this context, adequate financing for NCDs, in all parts of the world, is absolutely essential; even \u2013 or maybe especially \u2013 in these times of global turbulence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\tCommunity Zone and satellite sessions<\/h4>\n\t\t

The Community Zone opened today: a new addition at this year\u2019s Forum. It is a large, dedicated space in which delegates can meet and share ideas \u2013 perhaps over a game of table football or table tennis. The Community Stage hosts presentations during lunch and coffee breaks, and there is a Call to Lead wall on which delegates can post messages to world leaders, and an accompanying wall for Post-It notes of suggestions for NCD research priorities. People living with NCDs are at the heart of the zone (and, indeed, the whole Forum), with mini-documentaries of their stories and an exhibition showcasing the NCD Alliance\u2019s Our Views, Our Voices initiative.<\/p>\n\t\t

Sponsored satellite sessions allow for more focused and detailed discussion. This includes innovative financing, specific NCD issues (including action on psoriasis, cardiovascular disease and tobacco-related health problems, and catalysing a social movement for obesity), and strengthening partnership and frameworks.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2025 and beyond: leadership in NCDs from grassroots to government<\/h2>

The opening plenary of the day brought a powerhouse panel to the stage, focusing on the need for leadership, both in the run-up to the UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) and, crucially, taking the long view into the months and years beyond September.<\/p>

For Dr Guy Fones<\/strong> (NCD Department, WHO), NCD success depends on addressing the chronic underinvestment in programmes and services. He highlighted Rwanda as a champion of the use of health taxes to enhance the domestic fiscal space for NCDs. The WHO Best Buys are a proven, cost-effective solution and are, as Ferdinant Sonyuy<\/strong> (Africa NCD Network) noted, \u2018low-hanging fruit that we need to harvest for action\u2019.<\/p>

Dr Anne Gabriel<\/strong> (Ministry of Health, Seychelles) noted that despite the country\u2019s economic development and robust health systems, the country is no healthier because \u2018NCDs dominate our landscape\u2019. Several of the panellists reiterated the requirement that civil society take a strong stance to counter lobbying by the unhealthy commodity industries.<\/p>

Patricia Lambert<\/strong> (Global Alliance for Tobacco Control) provided a striking analogy: not only does individuals\u2019 influence spread out like ripples in a pond to their families, communities and beyond, but these circles need to come back in, moving from the global (such as the Forum or UNHLM) down to the level of communities and families.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u2018Make noise, focus, and never take no for an answer!\u2019\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPatricia Lambert<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTweeter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Princess Padmaja Kumari Parmar<\/strong> (Breakthrough T1D) spoke from her own experience, explaining that, without the involvement of people living with NCDs, the NCD story is incomplete. People with lived experience should \u2018seek out leadership roles as and when they come!<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

The NCD Alliance\u2019s Katie Dain<\/strong> made it very clear that we face two options. \u2018One is that we crawl under a rock and say the politics are too hard, so let\u2019s give up on the HLM. The alternative is to see this as our obligation to mount the resistance against this changing world and grab this HLM with both hands.<\/em>\u2019 We must take the second path!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\tBridging the financing gap: sustainable investments, smarter financing for NCDs<\/h2>\n

The second plenary session of the day kicked off with a \u2018fireside chat\u2019 between Jumana Qamruddin<\/strong> (World Bank) and Pierre Cooke<\/strong> (Healthy Caribbean Coalition). Since last year\u2019s International Dialogue on Sustainable Financing for NCDs and Mental Health, the World Bank has seen an increase in demand from governments for technical assistance and financing on NCDs. The recommendations from the Dialogue \u2013 which were co-created with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with lived experience of NCDs, academia, the private sector and civil society \u2013 are informing the World Bank\u2019s discussions with governments. But mobilising domestic financing is key: any external funding for NCDs should be catalytic, rather than substituting for domestic resource.<\/p>\n

The plenary panel heard an inspiring example of cancer care from Ulrika \u00c5rehed K\u00e5gstr\u00f6m<\/strong> (President of the UICC): the Access to Oncology Coalition. This has demonstrated a significant decrease in costs, thanks to pooled procurement, and also highlighted the importance of ensuring that the surrounding health infrastructure can support the provision of cancer medication.<\/p>\n

Dr Gladwell Gathecha<\/strong> (Ministry of Health, Kenya) called for a commitment to NCDs as part of UHC. Kenya\u2019s new insurance model includes a primary health care fund that specifically includes NCDs in the benefits package.<\/p>\n

Dr Ladi Hameed<\/strong> (Roche, Nigeria) described a partnership that has led to the Nigerian government including an NCD Catastrophic Health Fund in the national budget.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u2018[Pharmaceutical companies] have seen examples of what has and hasn\u2019t worked\u2026 and we can share our experience as an essential part of what we should be doing\u2019\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr Ladi Hameed<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTweeter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Professor Linda Bauld<\/strong> (University of Edinburgh) called for support for pooled funding mechanisms, such as the Health4Life Fund. The Scottish Government made a strategic decision to put $3 million into the Fund after hearing from partners in Rwanda about the need for NCD action.<\/p>\n

Dr Mary-Anne Etiebet<\/strong> (President and CEO of Vital Strategies) stressed the sheer scale of what could be achieved through enhanced health taxes: 50 million lives over 50 years: \u2018Health taxes are the solution for scale!<\/em>\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Simon Barquera<\/strong> (President of World Obesity Federation) described how Mexico took urgent action on NCDs at a moment of financial crisis: health taxes were a way to raise revenue. Since then, soda and junk food taxes have had a demonstrable increase on consumption, paving the way for other countries to implement similar taxes.<\/p>\n

A deeper dive: parallel thematic sessions with a focus on financing<\/h2>\n

Power up communities<\/em><\/h4>\n