The Healthy India Alliance (HIA) for the prevention and control of NCDs was launched in 2015 and provides a platform to both health and non-health civil society organisations (CSOs) in India to advance the agenda of NCD prevention and control.

India is witnessing an upward trend in NCDs, with 1 out of every 4 Indians at risk of dying prematurely from an NCD. The country hopes to achieve 10 national NCD targets, adopted under the National Multisectoral Action Plan in 2013, which aims to reduce premature NCD mortality by 25% by 2025. 

Expanding reach to regional and grassroot level CSOs in India: Regional civil society consultations on NCDs 

Given India’s vast geographical expanse and varied socioeconomic and cultural contexts, bringing onboard sub-national and grassroots CSOs is essential for comprehensive and relevant CSO engagement. This need has also been corroborated by the recently released Global Burden of Disease report on India’s State Level Disease Burden, which highlights the importance of focusing attention of policy and programmatic actions at the state level.

After the Second National Civil Society Consultation organised by HIA in July 2017, the Alliance expanded its reach to the four regions of the country to organise regional civil society consultations on NCDs aimed at streamlining the efforts of grassroots organisations with the national and state-level NCD response. 

The consultations successfully engaged 41 sub-national CSOs, including both health and non-health organisations, willing to join HIA and work collaboratively to strengthen the NCD response in their respective states and in the country as a whole.