Meeting report of the WHO European meeting of national NCD Directors and Programme Managers (2017)

A meeting of national NCD Directors and Programme Managers in the European Region was held in Moscow on 8-9 June 2017 to review the challenges and opportunities of achieving the NCD targets in Europe as a tool in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030. The meeting:

1. Examined the progress and status of NCD prevention and control in Europe;
2. Scanned the horizon for relevant innovations and opportunities to be more strategic and more
   effective;
3. Developed a European contribution to a global road map for the NCD targets from 2018 to 2030.

The meeting focused on a number of key areas, including the decline in mortality, the importance of masculinity and consideration of gender as an important risk factor, the excess mortality from cardiovascular disease, and the possibility of agreeing a more ambitious regional goal to reduce premature mortality by 45% by 2030. Taxation and tackling hypertension in health systems were identified as among the key policy responses. The meeting also explored more radical ways of dealing with commercial determinants and innovative approaches to using information for planning, interventions and surveillance.