Heads of State and Government have recently reaffirmed their commitment to provide
strategic leadership for the prevention and control of NCDs, by promoting greater policy
coherence and coordination through whole-of-government and health-in-all-policies
approaches. This includes engaging multiple stakeholders in an appropriate, coordinated,
comprehensive and integrated bold `whole of society` action and response.
A new workplan to engage actors across government sectors and stakeholders
The World Health Organization’s Global Coordination Mechanism on the Prevention and
Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (WHO GCM/NCD) is a Member State-led platform
facilitating multi-stakeholder engagement and cross-sectoral collaboration to prevent and
control NCDs and mental health conditions. Founded in 2014, the WHO GCM/NCD’s
mandate was last year extended until 2030.
On 25 May 2022, the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly approved the WHO
GCM/NCD’s new workplan, blueprinting a united and inclusive approach to reducing the
burden of NCDs and mental health conditions at local, national, and global scales. Across its
priority areas, the workplan focuses on sharing knowledge and best practices among
stakeholders, sparking new multi-sectoral collaboration, and creating meaningful engagement
with people living NCDs and mental health conditions.
"To achieve our vision of a world free from premature mortality from NCDs, Member States
have strengthened the WHO GCM/NCD’s mandate to convene and connect relevant
partners, elevate the voices of people living with NCDs, and leverage technical expertise
from WHO and partner organizations.", says Dr. Guy Fones, Unit Head of the Secretariat of
the Global Coordination Mechanism.
Sharing knowledge and best practices for a multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral NCD
response
guidance is crucial to inform effective multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral NCD responses
and strengthen capacity at country level. This forms a core element of the new workplan.
Since 2018, the WHO GCM/NCD has hosted the Knowledge Action Portal, a dedicated
online knowledge repository and community platform.
With a growing repository of knowledge resources, evidence-based solutions, success stories
and best practices in NCD prevention and control, the Knowledge Action Portal facilitates an
interactive exchange across stakeholders and government sectors. The platform is also home
to several technical and cross-cutting communities of practice, and hosts the NCD Lab, an
initiative crowdsourcing and innovation in NCD policies and programmes at grassroot level.
In line with the new workplan, the Knowledge Action Portal is currently being developed
further and will receive a new look and improved functionality to share knowledge and
connect partners.
Sparking and documenting multi-sectoral action and stakeholder collaboration
To strengthen multi-stakeholder collaboration at country level and support scale up of
innovative approaches across government sectors, the WHO GCM/NCD is first taking stock
of multi-sectoral initiatives and approaches from around the world. Through a recent Call for
Submissions, Member States and other national and sub-national governments are invited to
share their experiences in collaborating across government sectors for improved NCD
prevention and control. The most innovative and promising of the submitted experiences will
then be mapped, and selected case studies commissioned to showcase successful approaches
in implementing multi-sectoral action for further knowledge collaboration and capacity
development.
The WHO GCM/NCD also continues to provide guidance on engaging with non-State actors,
including private sector entities, and non-governmental organizations. This includes the
development of a new tool to support Member States’ decision-making on engaging private
sector entities for NCD prevention and control and co-chairing the WHO Civil Society
Working Group on NCDs with representation of major global non-state NCD-actors.
Engaging and co-designing with people living NCDs and mental health conditions
Beating NCDs and mental health conditions strongly relies on people living with respective
health conditions having a say in the design and implementation of related policies and
programmes. Recognizing this linchpin to an effective NCD-response, the WHO GCM/NCD
is currently co-developing a novel WHO Framework for the meaningful engagement of
people living NCDs and mental health conditions. The development process includes focus-
group discussions and extensive regional consultations bringing together people with lived
experience, patient advocates, practitioners, and policymakers.
Expected to be finalized in late 2022, the Framework will be supported by tailored policy
briefs and advocacy materials, and the WHO GCM/NCD is planning to support framework
implementation in Member States through tailored capacity building.