Second meeting of the Regional Director's Advisory Council on Innovation for Noncommunicable Diseases (‎2021)

Noncommunicable diseases (‎NCDs)‎ are responsible for nearly 90% of deaths and 84% of years lived with disability in the WHO European Region. As a result of the deadly interplay between NCDs and infectious diseases, the high prevalence of NCDs and their risk factors has exacerbated the burden of COVID-19 in the WHO European Region, while the pandemic is further exacerbating the burden of NCDs in the Region. Efforts to prevent and control NCDs are at the heart of the new WHO European Programme of Work 2020–2025 (‎EPW)‎, entitled “United Action for Better Health in Europe”.

As part of this, in 2020 the WHO Regional Director for Europe established an NCD Advisory Council on Innovation for Noncommunicable Diseases (‎NCD Advisory Council)‎, which brings together renowned experts on NCDs and representatives of special interest groups. At the inaugural meeting in December 2020, it was agreed to develop a new energized roadmap centred on Signature Initiatives to accelerate progress towards – and ideally beyond – the NCD targets.

The second Advisory Council meeting took place on 5 March 2021 and Council members provided feedback on a draft concept note for a roadmap for reducing NCDs in the WHO European Region, including a proposed set of six Signature Initiatives, and discussed next steps for taking the work on these Signature Initiatives forward.