The NCD funding challenge
Although noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, are the world’s leading cause of death, they are largely preventable. However, current funding falls far short of what’s needed to tackle them.
Noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease claim
41 million lives every year.
Source: WHO
Source: WHO
With a growing and aging global population, NCDs are having an increasingly negative impact on people, communities, and economies across the world.
NCDs are also the
number one
cause of disability worldwide.
It's estimated that
by addressing modifiable behaviors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, and educating populations on healthy lifestyles.
77% of all NCD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, or LMICs.
In fact, nearly half of all NCD deaths are "premature" — meaning people aged between 30-70 years — of which 82% occur in LMICs. This has a multitude of implications at every scale — from individual households to entire country economies.
NCDs are deeply intertwined with several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but one of the SDG targets is directly aimed at tackling them:
People with lower levels of education and economic status are increasingly exposed to NCD risks and are disproportionately affected by them.
The household costs of treatment, along with the loss of employment and income as a result, often force vulnerable people and families deeper into the poverty cycle.
Out-of-pocket payments for health expenses push an estimated 100 million people into extreme poverty worldwide every year, meaning that NCDs perpetuate global inequalities.
Diagnosis and treatment of NCDs are also less likely in low-income countries, yet the risk of exposure to some of the main causes is highest.
But there is hope for a better future.
However, funding currently falls extremely short. There is a significant chasm between the funding needed to tackle NCDs and the funding available –– NCDs receive just 1%-2% of all global health spending.
This spending has stagnated for the past two decades.
The NCD Alliance has found NCDs cost the global economy more than $2 trillion every year.
That's the size of Canada's entire economy — and bigger than Spain's.
However, data on NCDs is lacking and insufficient in many countries, making it difficult to persuade governments to invest in policies and interventions or develop an NCD strategy.
But investing in NCD prevention costs a fraction of the economic losses caused by NCD-related deaths and illnesses.
The World Health Organization has suggested that investing less than $1 per person per year in the "Best Buy" NCD interventions could save 7 million lives, avert nearly 10 million heart attack and stroke cases, and have economic and social benefits of over $230 billion in LMICs alone by 2030.
Globally, research by the NCD Countdown 2030 Collaborators shows an additional $18 billion annually between 2023-2030 could save 39 million lives and generate $2.7 trillion in benefits.
NCDs impact development, economies, individuals, and communities worldwide, and disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. They are both a consequence and a driver of poverty that must be addressed.
The good news is that most NCDs are preventable, making it largely a matter of financing and scaling up existing solutions. But reducing their impact and achieving the SDGs will require urgent and coordinated action — right now.
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