On the the second day of the World Cancer Congress, the NCD Alliance took part in two core NCD sessions, one taking participants "Behind the Scenes of the Global Health and Development Debate" and the second entitled "Healthy Planet, Healthy People – Addressing NCDs in the Post 2015 Development agenda".

Ariella Rojhani of the NCD Alliance spoke alongside Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, leader of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation; Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of PAHO, in a Behind the Senes Session chaired by Cary Adams, CEO of UICC. Many advances are yet to be made in the NCD response, but these will build on the firm foundations established over the past five years. Integration is key for success in the post 2015 development agenda - of health into all policies, of NCDs into the broader health agenda, and of individual noncommunicable diseases into a common NCD agenda to give the strongest voice.

This was followed by a discussion chaired by Sir George Alleyne on precisely how to address the burden of NCDs in the post 2015 development framework. Katie Dain, Executive Director of the NCD Alliance; and Ms Constance Kekihembo,CEO of Uganda NCD Alliance and East Africa NCD Alliance Initiative, spoke of the need for a realignment of priorities both globally and at the national level.

Reflecting this, Helen McFarlane, Director of the Health Policy Section, Development Policy Division, at Australia's Department of  Foreign Affairs and Trade, spoke of changes in Australia's aid policy, in response to a constantly changing health landscape which includes the need to tackle issues including NCDs across the lifecourse, including in the developing world.

Specifically regarding palliative care, Dr Jim Cleary, Director, Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin noted the importance of having clear guidelines for access to controllod pain relief medication. Dr Jacob Gayle, Vice President of Medtronic Philanthropy, highlighted the skills and resources offered by select private sector companies in realising the vision of the NCD community worldwide.

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Photo courtesy: Asian Development Bank, Tajikistan hospital