This 25th to 27th April, the newly formed Healthy India Alliance is holding a National Civil Society Consultation on NCDs in India to discuss multisectoral national progress on the prevention and control of NCDs. The meeting is engaging 70 stakeholders including representatives from government, academia, international CSOs and a broad range of CSOs.

 

The meeting includes capacity building workshops for CSOs, including one organised by the NCD Alliance and the American Cancer Society on the Building Blocks of Strategic Advocacy. Katie Dain, NCD Alliance Executive Director, is speaking to the role of civil society in achieving the national target of NCD mortality reduction.

 

Importantly, this meeting launches the Healthy India Alliance and will include a series of working groups in different thematic areas to develop action plans for the alliance. These areas are: mental health; regulating access to unhealthy food/beverages; NCD policy imperatives; patient engagement and palliative care.

 

NCD Alliance is proud to support the Healthy India Alliance, as part of its programme supported by and in partnership with Medtronic Philanthropy Expanding Access to care, Supporting global, regional and national level NCDA cation. 

 

In July 2015, the NCD Alliance held an Indian Civil Society Roundtable to discuss NCD advocacy and coalition building.  The clear momentum and interest amongst civil society resulted in a group of organisations coming together to form the "Healthy India Alliance". The alliance's secretariat is provided by HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination amongst youth) and its governing board comprises: Association of Adolescent and Child Care of India, Alzheimer's and Related Disorders of India, Cancer Fudnation of India, Center for Chronic Disease Control, Clean Air Asia, Dakshama, HealthBridge, HRIDAY, Indian Cancer Society, Madras Research Diabetes Foundation, Nada India Foundation, Pallium India, Public Health Foundation India, Sundaram Arulrhaj Hospital, The Union South East Asia, Vital Strategies.

 

The alliance aims to catalyse multisectoral action to enhance health and quality of life in India and its mission is to create an enabling environment for active participation of health and non-health CSOs to prevent and control NCDs through effective policies, partnerships and programmes.