First meeting of the Regional Director’s Advisory Council on innovation for noncommunicable diseases: virtual meeting, 14 December 2020. Meeting report

Noncommunicable diseases (‎‎NCDs)‎‎ present a significant global public health challenge and are responsible for nearly 90% of deaths and 84% of years lived with disability in the WHO European Region. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is now redoubling its efforts to tackle NCDs and, as part of this, the WHO Regional Director for Europe has established an NCD Advisory Council on Innovation for Noncommunicable Diseases (‎‎NCD Advisory Council)‎‎. The first meeting of the Advisory Council was held, virtually, on 14 December 2020, bringing together 20 renowned experts on NCDs and representatives of special interest groups, such as patient and health services provider organizations. For this inaugural meeting, Council members presented a wide variety of suggestions for elements that would accelerate progress in tackling NCDs. The discussion clearly highlighted that Member States need help to implement measures. A strong emphasis on partnerships and the need for multisectoral action also emerged, along with a call for better and innovative collection and use of data to inform initiatives and apply insights from behaviour change science.