Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance, and Dr David Watkins, University of Washington, have co-signed a new Op-Ed in the online publication, Health Policy Watch. They call on the urgent need to invest now in proven strategies to prevent and control NCDs. We've included an excerpt below. 

More than two years after the novel coronavirus erupted into a global pandemic, the world is beginning to settle into a new normal. COVID-19 changed how we live and work in ways that will continue long after the pandemic subsides. Digital and automation technologies are here to stay, work is done remotely, and shopping and entertainment have gone online.

The COVID-19 pandemic also laid bare an undisputable truth – the destructive path carved by the infectious SARS-CoV2 virus was only the tip of the iceberg. Studies have estimated that 60-90 percent of COVID-19 deaths have been of people living with one or more chronic condition, like obesity, heart or kidney disease, or cardiovascular diseases. And people living with NCDs are still experiencing the collateral damage of the pandemic, due to severe disruptions to essential health services.

The lack of investment in NCD prevention and care over the years has vastly amplified the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic...

To read the article in full - head over to the Health Policy Watch website!