Youth are already acting as leaders globally but their work needs to be better incorporated into policy-making about noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), agree three youth leaders who are working to address the NCDs emergency, in the new episode of the NCD Alliance podcast, Voices of the health revolution.

This is our third episode on the theme of leadership and the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs (UNHLM). The first featured a conversation between Monika Arora, President of NCDA, and global diabetes advocate Snehal Nandagawli on leadership and NCD equity. The second featured three leaders who are also living with NCDs.

“It’s really important to talk about who has the power to make decisions,” said physician Apoorva Gomber, who hosted the new episode.

The definition of leadership should also be broadened, said Swarnima Bhattacharya, founder of Gytree, which focuses on NCDs and women in India:

“There are people who are working through community radio, people who are raising awareness in education, there are doctors who are building communities also… obviously youth are at the forefront because they have mobility and energy.”

Young people are also advocating to stretch boundaries, added Bhattacharya, by arguing that healthcare must address must address the specific needs of different groups of people:

“When we are able to bring the youth to the table, we see that there is more equitable health care access for trans people, for elders, for women, etc.”

Looking to the UNHLM, priorities should include 1. Stronger political commitments and finances, 2. Equitable access to prevention, screening and treatment for NCDs, especially for marginalized people, and 3. Addressing commercial determinants of health, including marketing of unhealthy products, said Queen Morkporkpor Doe, Project Coordinator and Changemaker at Ark Development Organization, Ghana.

This year's Global Week for Action on NCDs will be cetred on the theme of leadership. The time to lead is now!

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