NCD Civil Society in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is convening on 1-2 September in Cairo, Egypt, to share best practices and strengthen collaboration for NCD prevention and control at the national and regional levels.

The meeting begun this morning with an address by WHO Regional Director Dr Ala Alwan emphasizing the urgent need for a strong civil society movement on NCDs in the EMR, followed by speeches by Dr Cary Adams, Chair of the NCD Alliance, and by Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan.

HRH addressed the lack of grassroots involvement on NCDs across the region and impressed on participants that with the competing political demands in the region – conflict, political instability – civil society is the only catalyst that will galvanize governments into action on NCDs.

The interactive workshop, jointly convened by the NCD Alliance and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, is one in a series of regional preparatory meetings that will serve to inform the first Global NCD Alliance Forum of National and Regional Alliances, to take place in Sharjah (UAE) in November. Participants include 45 representatives from NCD civil society organisations from twelve countries in the region, as well as staff from the global NCD Alliance, WHO Regional and Country Offices and the UN Development Programme. The objectives of the workshop are to:

• Review the current status and facilitate sharing of experiences among regional NCD civil society organisations;

• Strengthen the capacity of NCD civil society organisations in forming alliances to drive advocacy, policy, and accountability; and

• Foster effective collaboration between CSOs within and across countries and with the Government and WHO to better support implementation of regional NCD priorities.

A background paper commissioned for this meeting is available in the box below.