Description

The deadly collision of NCDs and COVID-19 threatens to leave a legacy of long-lasting impacts on health and wellbeing, exacerbating inequalities, and potentially threatening economic and political stability. Through disruption of health services, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the failure of many governments to adequately guarantee the health of their citizens, compounding inequities in access to care for NCDs. It has also heightened the vulnerability of people living with NCDs (PLWNCDs) due to greater health risks and social inequities. Both COVID-19 and NCDs take lives indiscriminately, reinforcing one another and disproportionately affecting the poorest communities and the most vulnerable people in many countries.

As governments are grappling with the challenges posed by COVID-19, the pandemic has reinforced the urgent need for strong health systems, a resilient, qualified, well-resourced health workforce, and healthy populations. In light of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on PLWNCDs, bridging the investment gap for the prevention and control of NCDs needs to be understood as an essential foundation for pandemic preparedness.

In this context, this virtual workshop event organised at the World Health Summit will convene global thought leaders to discuss:

• What are the lessons learnt from COVID-19 and their implications for the NCD response?
• How can the international community bridge the often siloed global health and development challenges, to support progress on NCDs and global health in future years?
• Above all, how do we ‘Build Back Better’, and ensure political leaders invest and prioritise health and NCDs differently in future?

SPEAKERS

• Chair: Ms. Nina Renshaw, Policy and Advocacy Director, NCD Alliance
• Mr. Christopher K. Agbega, musician and radio journalist, advocate for Sharecare Ghana, the Ghana NCD Alliance, and member of the Our Views Our Voices Global Advisory Committee
• Dr. Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the division of Noncommunicable Diseases, WHO
• Prof. Ricardo Baptista Leite, Member of Portuguese Parliament, Portugal
• Mr. Marc-Antoine Lucchini, Head International General Medicine, Sanofi
• Dr. Funmi Adewara, CEO/Founder, Mobihealth International