NETWORK RELEASE

Geneva, 21 May 2021 - The NCD Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of our 2021-2026 Strategy, which provides a bold agenda and ambitious goals, cascaded to four strategic pathways for action: advocacy and accountability, capacity development, knowledge and partnerships.

The Strategy 2021-2026 presents a comprehensive road map to support civil society in driving progress on NCDs. After an unprecedented year during which NCDs came into the spotlight via the COVID-19 pandemic, NCDA will not settle for returning to ‘business as usual’. Instead, we will demand to see accelerated progress on NCDs, in prevention and care, in financing, and in community engagement. 

"As the end date of the WHO 2025 NCD targets and the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the SDGs draws closer, the next six years provide the NCD community with a concrete window of opportunity to press for action on NCDs at the national and regional levels. Urgent and decisive action is critical to move towards a tipping point to curb the NCD epidemic, empower people to live healthy and dignified lives, and at the same time reduce poverty, and stimulate economic growth and environmental sustainability,” said Todd Harper, President of NCDA from 2019 – 2021.

The Strategy sets out ambitious long-term outcome and short-term impact goals to drive change in NCDs worldwide and to fulfil the promise of the SDGs. In the long-term, we set out to contribute to the delivery of the WHO and UN NCD premature mortality targets. In the short-term and for the duration of this strategy, four impact goals will drive our work and track our progress – prevention, care, financing and community engagement.  

“Over the last decade, NCDA has established a track record as a global thought leader on NCD policy and practice, a convener and mobiliser of the global NCD civil society movement, a partner to governments and international agencies, and a leading advocate for the meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs. During this next phase, we will explore emerging opportunities to overcome presenting challenges. We will lead global NCD advocacy and accountability, scale up our capacity development programmes to support and strengthen NCD civil society and people living with NCDs, promote knowledge, evidence and best practice on NCDs, and catalyse multisectoral action and health-promoting partnerships,” said Katie Dain, CEO of NCDA.  

The Strategy 2021-2026 is based upon an independent evaluation that was carried out in 2020 by Global Health Visions. It evaluated NCDA’s performance during the previous strategic period, gathered views and perspectives from our members and partners, and provided recommendations on strategic directions for 2021 onwards. During the following six months, the NCDA Board drew upon the evaluation and reviewed NCDA’s theory of change to develop the new strategy. 

The NCD Alliance thanks its members and partners for their support and engagement in the Strategy process, and we look forward to another phase of collaboration in achieving our shared aims to promote health, protect rights and save lives. 

New Board of Directors 2021 – 2023

As we welcome in this new strategic phase, we also welcome our new President, President-Elect and Board of Directors for the period 2021-2023, elected by members on Wednesday 19 May at the NCDA General Assembly Meeting, held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. The 2021-2023 Board is made up of an outstanding group of individuals from a range of backgrounds, areas of NCD expertise, and geographies to lead NCDA through the next two years.

We are delighted to announce that Anne Lise Ryel, former Secretary General of the Norwegian Cancer Society and NCDA Board Member for 2019-2021, has been elected as NCD Alliance President; and Monika Arora, Executive Director of HRIDAY and NCDA Board Member for 2019-2021 has been elected President-Elect. The members of the NCDA Board of Directors for 2021-2023 are:

• Trevor Hassell, President, Healthy Caribbean Coalition (Barbados)  
• Leslie Rae Ferat, Executive Director, Framework Convention Alliance (Canada)
• Todd Harper, CEO, Cancer Council Victoria (Australia)
• Marie Hauerslev, Chair, NCD Child (Denmark)
• Eva Njenga, Chair, NCD Alliance Kenya (Kenya)
• Kaushik Ramaiya, Honorary General Secretary, Tanzania NCD Alliance (Tanzania)
• Bo Norrving, Past President, World Stroke Organization (Sweden)
• Saunthari Somasundaram, Chairperson, NCD Malaysia and President, National Cancer Society of Malaysia)
• Guy Marks, President, The International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (Australia)
• Cary Adams, CEO, Union for International Cancer Control (Switzerland)
• Liesl Zuhlke, Board Member, World Heart Federation (South Africa) 
• Stephen Colagiuri, Vice President, International Diabetes Federation (Australia) (temporary - IDF representative for 2021-2023 to be confirmed shortly)

The NCD Alliance would like to express its deepest gratitude to our outgoing Board of Directors 2019-2021, for shaping our new strategy and playing such an essential role in our successes over the past two years.

Finally, we invite you to read the NCD Alliance Annual Report 2020, which summarises NCDA’s key achievements for the year. Once again, we thank our members for their commitment and collaboration throughout a very challenging 2020. 

With the support of our members and our new Board of Directors, and with renewed energy and dedication, we look forward to beginning this strategic period, which will bring us closer to seeing our shared vision become a reality: a healthier, fairer world that is free from the preventable suffering, disability and death caused by noncommunicable diseases.