In the days leading up to the third United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs, Access Accelerated and IFPMA convened partners and stakeholders at a UN General Assembly side event, “Working Together to Translate Words into Action: NCD Prevention, Treatment and Care.” Held on 25 September at the Harvard Club of New York City, speakers discussed the progress made in one of the initial Access Accelerated focus countries, Kenya, and reaffirmed the commitment to decisive, sustained action on global and local NCD priorities.
Following opening keynotes from the First Lady of Burkina Faso H.E. Madame Adjoavi Sika Kaboréand Dr. Sania Nishtar, Co-Chair of the WHO High-Level Commission on NCDs, the event’s two panels reflected on the following themes:
- The need for transformational change in low- and middle-income country health systems to effectively address NCDs. Panelists spoke about the challenges of integrating NCDs into global and local systems focused primarily on communicable diseases, including the need to break down funding silos and build new capacity at the primary care level. Despite these challenges, opportunities exist to leverage new or existing resources to fight NCDs. For example, in Kenya, the Ministry of Health recently found success in joint tuberculosis / diabetes programming, and a new industry partnership, Ngao ya Afya, is using mobile technology to connect directly with individuals.
- The need to empower people living with NCDs (PLWNCDs) and national governments to co-create sustainable, locally-owned NCD solutions. Civil society was a key participant in the event, with sickle cell advocate Lea Kilenga speaking passionately about keeping PLWNCDs at the center of our efforts, empowering them and understanding their needs holistically as people, not just as patients. Dr. Eva Njenga of NCD Alliance Kenya, reflected on the convening held by Access Accelerated in Nairobi in March and the importance of bringing together NCD advocates, government, the biopharmaceutical industry and other key stakeholders to forge a common path forward.
- The need for greater global mobilisation on NCDs and the catalytic role that Access Accelerated, as a public-private partnership, can play in that process. Progress towards SDG 3.4 has been slow worldwide, and panelists called for greater global and local action, and accountability on NCDs. Notably, Dr. Nishtar highlighted how Access Accelerated serves as catalyst for greater mobilisation, convening critical partners like the World Bank, to make NCDs a priority for investment at the global and local levels.
Overall, as stated by IFPMA representative Martin Bernhardt on the floor of the High-Level Meeting, Access Accelerated and the biopharmaceutical industry stand ready to turn global commitments into practical action and forge innovative public-private partnerships to co-create sustainable solutions to improve people’s health. We look forward to meeting the challenges laid forth by our partners and stakeholders at this event:
- To continue seeking innovative, integrated solutions for NCDs at global and local levels;
- To follow through on our commitment to people living with NCDs in Kenya and other LMICs; and
- To be a voice for action and mobilisation on NCDs worldwide.
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From left to right: The Honorable Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health, Jamaica; and Greg Perry, IFPMA. | ||
- Her Excellency Madame Adjoavi Sika Kaboré, First Lady of the Republic of Burkina Faso
- Dr. Sania Nishtar, Co-Chair, WHO High-Level Commission on NCDs
- Greg Perry, Assistant Director General, IFPMA
- Dr. Kibachio Joseph Muiruri Mwangi, Ministry of Health for Kenya, Head of the NCD Division
- Dr. Joseph Lubega, Global Hematology Oncology Pediatric Excellence (HOPE)
- Dr. Githinji Gitahi, Global CEO, Amref Health Africa
- Dr. Eva Njenga, Chairperson, NCD Alliance Kenya
- Lea Kilenga, Sexy Sickle Cell Founder, Advocate and Entrepreneur
- Dr. Catherine Karekezi, Medical Director, Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre
- Dr. Edward Omete, PharmAccess Foundation, M-TIBA Platform
- James Pfitzer, Director, Access Accelerated
- Shiulie Ghosh, journalist and event moderator
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
World Cancer Congress1 – 4 October: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The World Cancer Congress aims to strengthen participants’ action and impact on national, regional and international scales through a multidisciplinary programme that features the latest successful interventions in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.
On 2 October (17:00 – 18:30, Conference Room Hall 3), Access Accelerated will host a joint event with the City Cancer Challenge program, “Transforming public-private partnerships to strengthen health systems.” The panel will discuss how, through the City Cancer Challenge process, Access Accelerated and C/CAN can take a patient-centered approach to harness the diverse and broad expertise, resources and competencies of local, regional and global partners to support cities to develop their plans and implement sustainable solutions that will save lives.
Follow the conversation using the hashtag, #CityCancerChallenge
The full World Cancer Congress programme can be viewed here; other key panels to attend include:
- Bridging the Resource Gap: Attracting New Financing to Cancer Care in LMICs: Tuesday, 2 October, 14:20 – 15:20, Conference Room T5-14
- City Cancer Challenge Partners Briefing on the City Health Financing Lab: Wednesday, 3 October, 12:00 – 13:00, UICC Members’ Convening Room, Global Village
- Delivering Equitable Access to Quality Cancer Care: Local Champions Driving Change: Thursday, 4 October, 15:00 – 16:30, Conference Room 304
CONTACT US
Please contact us at AccessAccelerated@webershandwick.com with any questions and follow the conversation around industry actions to tackle NCDs on Twitter at @NCDAccess
