The NCD Alliance — Putting non-communicable diseases on the global agenda

World leaders, policymakers, civil society, and other stakeholders gathered in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20. While the overall outcomes of Rio+20 fell short of expectations, improving human health and preventing and controlling NCDs specifically were recognized as integral issues for delivering a sustainable future for all.

The inclusion of NCDs in the Rio+20 Outcome Document builds the momentum achieved at the 2011 UN Summit, provides a platform for engaging in the sustainable development dialogue including the sustainable development goal (SDG) process, and keeps us on course to bring NCDs into the center of the post-2015 development framework.

Click here to learn more about Rio+20 and outcomes from the conference.

Sustainable Development Goals

A critical process outcome of Rio+20 was agreement by Member States to set up an open working group in the General Assembly with a view to develop a set of global sustainable development goals (SDGs). These SDGs should be concise, action-oriented, universally applicable, considerate of current development priorities (i.e. the MDGs), and reflect all three dimensions of sustainable development.

The inclusion of health indicators in these goals will be useful in measuring both health gains and overall progress toward sustainable development. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already developed a set of health indicators for sustainable development, as well as a series of policy briefs on Health in the Green Economy.

NCD Alliance briefing paper: Tackling NCDs to Enhance Sustainable Development

To support our advocacy and provide some background information on NCDs and sustainable development, the NCD Alliance has produced a briefing paper entitled Tackling NCDs to Enhance Sustainable Development.

Click here to download the full briefing paper
Click here to download the summary for advocates

This paper highlights the relationship between NCDs and the three pillars of sustainable development, and three priority areas for integrated interventions: nutritious food for all, clean energy, and healthy cities.

Please feel free to use this paper in your own advocacy efforts.

Post- Rio Process

At the Rio Conference, a decision was reached to estalbish a Member State led Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG). At the end of 2012, the UN Secretary General released the list of Member States that will comprise the Working Group.  Their primary goal is to facilitate the development of SDGs that will complement the Post-2015 development framework.

NCDA will continue to engage in this process and provide further detail as it develops.