Description

This research report provides an overview of global developments, challenges and opportunities associated with optimising the health workforce to expedite efforts to address noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Throughout the report, we argue that a robust, multidisciplinary, team-based primary health care (PHC) system with strong referral linkages is the most effective approach to tackling the burden of NCDs.

This builds on the 2019 NCD Alliance report “Protecting Populations, Preserving Futures”, which focuses on optimising the health workforce by creating healthcare models that 1) are people-centred and based in PHC, with health workers holistically meeting the care needs of populations; 2) are multidisciplinary, to ensure the skills and time of each worker is maximised; and 3) leverage innovation and digital health to support an often over- burdened health workforce, also strengthening health data to ease the referral process between healthcare providers.

Six years later – and in the lead up to the fourth High- Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the Promotion of Mental Health and Well-being (HLM4) in September 2025 – this policy research report takes stock of the current global situation and the challenges and opportunities in regard to optimising the health workforce for NCD prevention, treatment and care. It aligns with and builds upon research and findings from the 2019 report and develops a framework for accelerating action towards a comprehensive health system reform, including an optimised health workforce, to manage the NCD burden.