World Health Summit 2025: NCDA leads calls for integrated and equitable action on NCDs
At the World Health Summit 2025, the NCD Alliance (NCDA) took centre stage in driving the global conversation on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). NCDA co-hosted two flagship sessions, moderated by NCDA CEO Katie Dain. From Commitment to Action: Advancing Sustainable Solutions for NCDs, with Sanofi, brought together speakers from diverse sectors to discuss practical pathways to close the implementation gap on NCDs, within the framework of the Political Declaration.
Speakers explored strategies to optimise synergies across sectors, identifying solutions for sustainable financing, people-centred care, and health system strengthening. Solutions aimed to respond to immediate needs and challenges within the NCD response while securing long-term accountability for NCDs in the post-SDG era. Throughout the session, the importance of meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs was central.
“People living with NCDs should have access to the front table to shape policies and implementation.”
Promoting Childhood Health and Well-being to Prevent and Manage NCDs – Investing in a Healthier Future, with UNICEF and Novo Nordisk, reframed the global NCD agenda to prioritise children and young people, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Participants from WHO, UNICEF, civil society, private sector and city governments showcased their experiences and lessons learned on how multisectoral collaboration can build healthier environments and prevent lifelong NCD risks. It called upon all sectors to provide leadership and take concrete action to translate policy commitments into tangible outcomes.
“No single sector can address the NCD burden as it affects children and young people but between governments, civil society, academia, relevant private sector, and communities including young people themselves, we have the knowledge, tools and resources to create the system transformation that is needed.”
Ms Dain also represented NCDA in two additional sessions. Addressing Liver Disease and Major NCDs in Global Health Policy hosted by ISGlobal reflected on liver disease within the broader NCD response, including in the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health. She emphasised the strong connections between liver health and the broader NCD agenda, outlining common strategies and approaches that can benefit all NCDs, including liver disease.
Finally, Joining Forces to Control NCDs: How to Tackle the Largest Disease Burden, hosted by the German Ministry of Health, focused on building collaboration and synergies across sectors and stakeholders to design and sustain an effective global response to NCDs. Ms Dain underscored the need for coordinated global action to address the world’s largest and most complex disease burden. The session also saw the participation of the German German Minister of Health Nina Warken and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“Prevention is a global imperative. Germany will push for stronger prevention and care. We have the knowledge and the tools. What we need now is the determination and the partnerships to bring results.”
Across all discussions, NCDA reaffirmed its core message: integration, equity, and sustainability must guide the next phase of NCD action — from early prevention to lifelong care.
You can watch the session recordings and highlights on the World Health Summit website or explore NCDA’s social media coverage.