Dear Forum Delegates,

 

It is with deep regret that we have to inform you that the Global NCD Alliance Forum scheduled for 20-22 October 2024 in Kigali Rwanda has been postponed due to the current Marburg virus. This has been an extremely difficult decision to take, and we are obviously hugely disappointed to have to take this step. 

 

We fully appreciate the leadership of the Rwanda Minister of Health and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre in responding to the Marburg virus so quickly and effectively in Rwanda. We commend the Government’s swift response and measures they have put in place to contain the outbreak and prevent further cases. We fully appreciate that Marburg is an example of a public health threat that can appear at any moment and in any place, and we stand in solidarity with the Rwandan Government during these challenging times.  

 

The NCD Alliance this week has been monitoring the situation and consulting with a range of partners and collaborators regarding the feasibility of our Forum, including the Rwanda NCD Alliance and MoH/RBC. The NCD Alliance Board has decided that the risk is too high for us to proceed as planned in October, given the nature of the virus, the location of the virus being in Kigali itself, and the timing of the Forum being in the midst of the outbreak. Our assessment of the risk aligns with the ongoing WHO advisory that considers the risk as very high at national level and high at regional level. As a global health organisation, our responsibility first and foremost has to be the health and safety of our 700 delegates, as well as not compromising in anyway the national outbreak response during these critical weeks ahead. 

 

We are therefore postponing the Forum to 13-15 February 2025. Pre-conferences will be on 12 February and the main programme will now be on the 13-15 February. Rwanda NCD Alliance and NCD Alliance will be supporting Kigali Car Free Day on the morning of Sunday 16 February, an event that takes place twice a month around the city to promote physical activity, reduce emissions and raise awareness of NCDs, and your participation would be welcomed. 

 

We remain committed to holding the Forum in Rwanda and the African continent, as a platform to showcase leadership from the region and address inequities in NCDs regionally and globally. We believe this new timing will allow sufficient time for the outbreak to be controlled, and will still result in a vibrant and impactful global convening of the NCD community ahead of the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs.  

 

Please accept our sincere apologies for the disruption this postponement may cause you. We hope most of you will be able to change travel plans to these new dates with minimal loss. If you have paid for Forum registration this will be automatically transferred to the new dates or reimbursed if you are unable to attend. We will be in touch with all travel grantees, as soon as we can, to change flight tickets. We look forward to working together to make these revised plans a success. 

 

We deeply appreciate your support. 

 

Sincerely,   

 

Katie Dain

Chief Executive Officer

NCD Alliance