NCD integrated country support

NCD Special Initiative: Integrating NCD prevention and management services through primary health care

Mortality and morbidity from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) constitute a major challenge for development, with 86% of premature deaths (under 70 years of age) from NCDs occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While evidence-based solutions to address NCDs are readily available in the WHO NCD “best buys”, many LMICs struggle to prioritize NCDs within primary health care due to various system-level constraints. Initiating, scaling up and sustaining cost-effective NCD interventions requires strengthening core health system functions, with a focus on PHC, to maximize population health and respond to the NCD burden. 

Since 2020, the Government of Norway has supported countries in strengthening NCD service delivery through the “Norway NCD Flagship Initiative,” aiming to improve outcomes for hypertension, diabetes and some cancers, with a planned expansion to include chronic respiratory diseases. The initial countries receiving support include Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, through a flexible mechanism leveraging existing efforts and aligning fully with national priorities and policies. Country workplans holistically address key health system areas and include exercises to prioritize NCDs in health benefit packages, standardize treatment protocols, train the health workforce, convene strategic roundtables for NCDs to garner political buy-in, assess price and availability of NCD medicines, and implement facility-based patient and programme monitoring with linkages to the national health information system.  

The strong efforts to integrate NCD services in these countries provide a foundation of best practices to apply in other contexts through expanded funding channels. Building on these achievements, the WHO is launching the Special Initiative on Integrating Services for Noncommunicable Diseases in Primary Health Care (NCD Special Initiative) to extend opportunities to additional countries to benefit from this support and invite organizations and donors to contribute resources through a dedicated mechanism.

The aim of the NCD Special Initiative is to strengthen delivery of NCD services through PHC and contribute to the achievement of SDG 3.4 target toward a one third relative reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2030. Participating countries will be invited to undertake initial assessments of their available NCD services in primary health care to identify needs and opportunities, and develop strategic implementation plans.