Non-Communicable Diseases Forum (NCD-F) of Bangladesh

The national NCD alliance of Bangladesh has established a constructive relationship with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s NCD Control Unit. It has contributed to national policy documents such as the national NCD Strategy, and actively engaged in consultations on the Global NCD Framework. In 2012 NCD-F conducted numerous educational and screening activities, such as the screening and treatment of 500 women for cervical and breast cancer. 

 

Danish NCD Alliance

The Danish Alliance was formed by the Diabetes Association, Heart Foundation, and Cancer Society. The Alliance’s main activities include being an active participant in the global NCD political process, driving Denmark political initiatives in the prevention and control of NCDs in lower income countries abroad, and specifically supporting Uganda, Tanzania, and Zanzibar with the creation and development of patient organizations. The Danish NCD Alliance, alongside the Danish development agency (DANIDA), spearheaded the East Africa NCD Alliance Initiative, which is the first example of twinning alliances in high-income and low-income countries. The initiative is working towards political prioritization of NCDs in order to strengthen the capacity of these African national alliances.

 

Consortium of Ethiopian NCD Associations

The Consortium of Ethiopian NCD Associations is promoting June as “Non-communicable Diseases/NCD Awareness Month”. The Consortium is joined by the Mathiwos Wondu-YeEthiopia Cancer Society, Addis Abba Health Bureau, WHO Ethiopia Country Office, Ethiopian Public Health Association, Ethiopian Heart Association, and Ethiopian Diabetes Association in support of a nation-wide effort to challenge the growing NCD burden in Ethiopia. On June 6th, 2014, administration officials and relevant organization guests will gather in the capital city Addis Ababa for the launching event of the month-long program. Throughout the month of June, there will be a walking program, panel discussion, and various awareness and prevention activities at sub-city and district levels. The event will encourage simple life style changes, such as healthy diets and avoidance of tobacco, in order to advocate for NCD prevention.

Click here to view the promotional poster

 

Finnish NCD Alliance

The Finnish NCD Alliance was founded in December 2013 by the Cancer Society of Finland, Finnish Brain Association, Finnish Diabetes Association, Finnish Heart Association, Finnish Medical Society Duodecim and Organisation for Respiratory Health in Finland. The Finnish Lung Health Association joined later to the group. These organizations have a long history of working together, both in health promotion and advocacy. The Finnish NCD Alliance has started collaborating with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the National Institute for Health and Welfare, which are responsible for the planning and implementation of the national NCD policy. One of the main priorities of the Finnish NCD Alliance is influencing the next government, starting in Spring 2015, to commit strongly to NCDs.

 

Italian Wellness Alliance

The Italian Wellness Alliance was launched in 2012 with the mission of encouraging healthy lifestyles to prevent non-communicable disease. The Alliance has published a resource tool titled, “Strategies for Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) Promotion to Prevent Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes In Italy”, which lists both macro and micro approaches to reversing unhealthy lifestyle habits in Italy. The resource addresses multiple contexts where positive choices and interventions can be made, including the family setting, work places, healthcare settings, and sports settings. 

Click here to see the strategy resource tool

 

NCD Alliance Malaysia

NCD Alliance Malaysia has embarked on an awareness-raising initiative called “TChat”. It includes a series of dialogues between local community and key leaders to discuss healthy diets, tobacco control, physical activity and harmful use of alcohol. The dialogues are organised in community settings, including restaurants, workplaces, women’s groups, villages, or educational facilities. These provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and barriers, and explore simple and practical solutions to adopting healthy lifestyles.

 

NCD Alliance Nepal

NCD Alliance Nepal has conducted training programs for community health workers (CHWs). The aim is to train and certify volunteers to work in the rural and urban communities to raise awareness of NCD risk factors and promote healthy lifestyles. After completing the half day training program, the CHWs are certified as Heart Disease Prevention Volunteers (HDPV). To date, 785 volunteers have been trained. NCD Alliance Nepal aims to train 2,000 volunteers throughout Nepal. 

 

Dr Prakash Raj Regi, NCD Alliance Nepal

 

Norwegian NCD Alliance

The Norwegian NCD Alliance collaborated with the Norwegian Government on the development and preparation of a Norwegian NCD strategy launched in September 2013. This strategy makes Norway the first country to respond to commitments made in the WHO Global NCD Action Plan with a comprehensive national strategy to fight NCDs. The Norwegian NCD Alliance also has a pivotal role in the implementation of the strategy, and was recently granted USD 250,000 from the Directorate of Health for a campaign to promote physical activity in Norway.

 

The Norwegian NCD Alliance with former Minister of Health of Norway, Dr Jonas Gahr Støre

 

Tanzania NCD Alliance (TANCDA)

The Tanzania Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (TANCDA) was established in 2012 by the Tanzania Diabetes Association, Heart Foundation of Tanzania, Tanzania Association for Respiratory Diseases and Tanzania Cancer Association. TANCDA works closely with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) including recently supporting the development of the Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2014-2020. TANCDA led a consultation process with various stakeholders to elicit input on the Strategic Plan.

 

Uganda NCD Alliance (UNCDA)

In 2011, the Uganda NCD Alliance (UNCDA) was formed by the Uganda Diabetes Association, Uganda Heart-Research Foundation, and the Uganda Cancer Society with support from the Danish NCD Alliance and Danish International Development Agency. The creation of UNCDA marked the first African national NCD alliance and now it serves as a model for other African nations. The UNCDA offers a range of support services, which include counselling, peer education, and training opportunities. Most recently, the UNCDA has approached the government with a request to make non-communicable disease testing mandatory for the country's citizens (an article on this development can be found here).

Click here for recent UNCDA news

 

United States NCD Roundtable (NCD-RT) 

Continuing to be a leader and credible voice for information sharing, advocacy, multisectoral collaboration, and best practices on NCDs, the NCD Roundtable convened meetings with US Department of HHS Assistant Secretary Daulaire, and Tim Evans, Head of Health, The World Bank Group, to discuss multilateral forums on NCDs, US government funding for NCDs in global health, and NCDs in post-2015. The NCD-RT called attention to the need to address NCDs in developing countries and leverage resources across existing and new US global Health programs through congressional testimony, position papers, and events.

To see the US NCD-RT major accomplishments of 2013-2014, click here

 

Loyce Pace Bass, co-chair of NCD-RT Advocacy Working Group and Director of Health Policy at LIVESTRONG Foundation 

 

Zanzibar NCD Alliance (Z-NCDA)

The Zanzibar NCD Alliance (Z-NCDA) has launched a campaign to raise public awareness of NCDs. Campaign activities include radio and television programmes, printed education materials on NCDs, community outreach events, and establishment of a network of volunteers. Z-NCDA has also undergone a period of organisational capacity-building, including in-depth workshops on good governance for Board Members, and the development of a comprehensive strategic plan and a resource mobilisation strategy.