Research-based pharmaceutical industry launches collaborative framework to tackle NCDs

The research-based pharmaceutical industry launches today a Framework for Action to respond to concerns that cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are posing mounting threats to public health as well as public and private finances worldwide.

The industry’s 10-point Framework scopes out specific areas of action to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including innovation, access and affordability, prevention and health education. It also underscores the essential role of partnerships and dialogue in implementing the Framework. The NCD Framework for Action brings together the global research-based pharmaceutical industry in support of the World Health Organization’s Action Plan on NCDs and the Moscow Ministerial Declaration. It was presented yesterday at the United Nations Civil Society Hearings in New York, held to prepare for the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs to take place in September, which aims to secure an action- oriented UN response to the rise of NCDs.

The aim is that the NCD Framework for Action will provide a sound basis for the research-based pharmaceutical industry to partner with the people on the ground, governments and the WHO to find ways to address prevention, care and treatment for NCDs in the developing world.