New Partnership Between NCD Alliance and Novo Nordisk Foundation to Accelerate Action on NCDs

Geneva, Switzerland; Copenhagen, Denmark - The NCD Alliance (NCDA) and Novo Nordisk Foundation have announced a new two-year partnership aimed at accelerating action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

The partnership will support the shared ambition of NCDA and Novo Nordisk Foundation to improve the prevention and treatment of NCDs, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). NCDs such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases represent one of the greatest global health and development challenges, accounting for over 75% of deaths worldwide, and contributing to poverty, inequalities and impeding economic growth.

The new partnership comes at a critical moment for the NCD response, with the fourth UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health (HLM) taking place in New York next week. Governments are expected to adopt a new UN political declaration which will recognise the scale of the burden, signal the alarm that progress is off track, and outline a roadmap of commitments for 2030 and beyond.

“We are delighted to be kicking off this new partnership with Novo Nordisk Foundation at such an important juncture for NCDs”, said Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance. “NCDA has been at the forefront of civil society preparations for this fourth HLM, aiming to galvanise awareness and commitments from governments worldwide. Through this partnership we will strive to turn commitments into action, scale up global advocacy across strategic priority areas, and expand capacity development programmes in shared priority LMIC regions.”

The partnership will amplify evidence-based advocacy for increased attention and resource commitment to NCDs with a thematic focus on early prevention, NCDs within humanitarian settings, health workforce for NCDs, and sustainable NCD financing with a focus on philanthropies.

“NCD prevention and care is an important public health priority and something that is high on our agenda at the foundation. The NCD Alliance plays a vital role when it comes to creating awareness and mobilising political support for an equitable response to the burden of NCDs, globally as well as nationally through their networks. We therefore have high expectations of this partnership and look forward to collaborating closely with NCDA,” says Professor Flemming Konradsen, Chief Scientific Officer of Health, Novo Nordisk Foundation.