Just five per cent of employees in Latin America and Asia and one per cent in Africa are estimated to have access to a workplace health programme, says a new report by the NCD Alliance and the Novartis Foundation.

Titled Tackling noncommunicable diseases in workplace settings in low- and middle-income countries: a call to action and practical guidance, the report focuses on low- and middle-income countries, where 80 per cent of the 15 million deaths from NCDs among people aged 30–70 occur each year.

The document provides an overview of the current realities of NCDs and progress made to date in workplace health in LMICs, sets out the challenges and opportunities to increase implementation in those countries, and offers recommendations for key stakeholders to create an environment within which workplace health can thrive.

"Employers share responsibility for the wellbeing of their employees, in both the immediate and long-term, and can play a pivotal role in promoting, incentivising and achieving improved health outcomes." -- NCDA CEO Katie Dain.

"Employers share responsibility for the wellbeing of their employees, in both the immediate and long-term, and can play a pivotal role in promoting, incentivising and achieving improved health outcomes," said NCDA CEO Katie Dain. "Until recently, however, there has been little capacity to address NCDs in LMICs."

The report also includes an employers’ framework for effective NCD workplace health programmes and notes some workplaces that have taken the lead.

Download the report.