NCD Alliance launches the NCD Relay: from global commitments to regional action
The NCD Alliance is launching the NCD Relay, a series of regional convenings designed to turn global commitments on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) into regional priorities, stronger civil society coordination and action.
Running from 2026 to 2028, the NCD Relay will connect six regional convenings across Africa, Latin America, the Western Pacific, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, building momentum towards the next Global NCD Alliance Forum in 2028.
Led and shaped by regional NCD alliances, each convening will bring together civil society, people living with NCDs, governments and other key stakeholders to examine the priorities and opportunities particular to their region.
Across the Relay, the convenings will help translate commitments from the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health into action, strengthen civil society coordination and advocacy capacity, and ensure NCDs remain central to wider global health reform.
The Relay is designed as a journey: priorities, lessons and momentum generated in each region will contribute to the regions that follow and, ultimately, to a stronger collective civil society agenda at the 5th Global NCD Alliance Forum in 2028.
The Relay begins in Africa
The first regional convening, the NCD Relay Africa Regional Convening, will take place on 21–22 November 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Organised by the Africa NCDs Network (ANN) and NCD Alliance East Africa (EANCDA), in collaboration with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Ethiopian NCD Alliance Consortium and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the convening will bring together voices from across the continent under the theme:
From Commitments to African-Led Action: Advancing NCD Health Security, Sovereignty and Resilience.
A key outcome will be the Addis NCD Relay Declaration, setting out shared African advocacy priorities and collective commitments emerging from the convening.
The Africa convening marks the beginning of a wider journey through the regions, connecting regional realities with global advocacy and carrying momentum towards 2028.
Explore the NCD Relay Africa Regional Convening and register:
The NCD Relay in Africa is supported by the NCD Relay’s global strategic partners: the Global Alliance for Patient Access (GAfPA), the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The World Diabetes Foundation supports the event as an Africa Convening Strategic Partner. Additional support comes from NCD Relay Sponsors NCDI Poverty Network and Paolo Chiesi Foundation, and Travel Partner, Ethiopian Airlines.