Partnering across sectors

The Defeat-NCD Partnership’s Secretariat has been hosted by the United Nations (most recently at UNITAR during 2019-2022) since its original set-up as the practical response to the widespread call for action on NCDs. In 2022, the Defeat-NCD Partnership has transitioned, as part of it organisational growth, to an independent organisation with an international mandate, registered in Geneva, Switzerland. The Defeat-NCD Partnership works with governments, multilateral agencies, civil society, academia, philanthropic foundations, and the private sector.

Urgent need for action

NCDs are the leading cause of death and disability globally, accounting for 71% of all deaths in 2016. An increasing number of these deaths occur in low-resource countries, affecting adults at a younger age. Each year, 15 million people between the ages of 30 and 69 die prematurely from an NCD. More than 85% of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.[1]

Focus

The Defeat-NCD Partnership’s work is organised around four interconnected pillars that constitute a comprehensive service package to tackle the most common gaps and constraints that challenge low-resource countries. Partnership will initially focus on diabetes and hypertension. Both conditions are closely related and contribute significantly to the burden of premature mortality and disability from NCDs.[2,3] Subsequently, the Partnership will address other NCDs of major prevalence and impact such as certain cancers and lung conditions. The first countries in focus are India, Gambia, Rwanda, and Djibouti.

Pillar 1: National NCD Capacity Building: Help governments to strengthen key institutions and develop plans of action.

Pillar 2: Community Scale-up of NCD Services: Increase the provision of NCD services through community action and health system strengthening.

Pillar 3: Affordability and Accessibility to Essential NCD Supplies and Distribution: Expand the consistent availability of affordable essential medicines, diagnostics, and technologies for NCDs.

Pillar 4: Sustainable NCD Financing: Support low-resource countries in securing financing to achieve universal health coverage for NCDs.

1 World Health Organization. Noncommunicable Diseases. Fact sheet. 2018; www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs355/en/. Accessed 2 July, 2018.
2 Epstein M, Sowers JR. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Hypertension. 1992;19(5):403-418.
3 Parving H-H, Hommel E, Mathiesen E, et al. Prevalence of microalbuminuria, arterial hypertension, retinopathy, and neuropathy in patients with insulin dependent diabetes. British medical journal (Clinical research ed). 1988;296(6616):156.