The focus on accountability of this year’s Global Week for Action on NCDs (noncommunicable diseases) follows a United Nations-wide call from Secretary-General António Guterres “to use the recovery to build back better” – a call to take advantage of the opportunities that COVID-19 has presented us. This is highly relevant in the area of NCDs, where WHO has recently produced several resources that show that the European Region stands ready and willing to #ActOnNCDs with governments, donors and partners.
The stories in the links below are recent examples of actions taken by governments and policy-makers to prevent and control NCDs. These actions include developing a country package to reduce salt intake; enabling health-care workers to promote breastfeeding; identifying best practices to reduce alcohol consumption; and interviewing practitioners and patients affected by NCDs to identify challenges and opportunities faced in countries, and innovative solutions to overcome them.
The Global Week for Action on NCDs is coordinated by the NCD Alliance – a civil society network of around 2000 organizations in more than 170 countries – which aims to combine efforts to reduce the global NCD burden and enhance health and equality.