Latest News

ACCESS TO MEDICINE FOUNDATION NEW REPORT ON INSULIN ACCESS

October 6, 2022

Drugmakers that dominate the world’s insulin market must scale up access efforts globally. A new report by the Access to Medicine Foundation identifies ways in which pharmaceutical companies are now seeking sustainable approaches to scaling up access, but industry efforts currently fall short in addressing the extent of the insulin inequity problem. Access the report here.

COALITION MEMBER MEETING AT UNGA 77

September 21-22, 2022

Alongside the 2022 UN General Assembly, the Coalition for Access to NCD Medicines & Products gathered members for a hybrid event for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This two-day meeting involved strategy discussions and a celebratory lunch with guests for the 5th anniversary of the Coalition. 

WHO NEW REPORT ON NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES

September 15, 2022

Invisible numbers: the true extent of noncommunicable diseases and what to do about them. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – chief among them, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease and stroke), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – along with mental health, cause nearly three quarters of deaths in the world. Their drivers are social, environmental, commercial and genetic, and their presence is global. Every year 17 million people under the age of 70 die of NCDs, and 86% of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Read the report. 

CARISCA 2022 SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH SUMMIT

June 28-30, 2022

How Africa Matters to the Global Supply Chain. The Coalition for Access to NCD Medicines & Products hosted three panels at the second annual CARISCA Supply Chain Research Summit: “Global NCD supply security challenges, why they matter, and applicable learnings from other areas of health”, “ Local NCD supply chain innovations”, and “ Meeting the country’s NCD forecasting need – the Coalition’s innovative Forecasting Initiative”.

WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY 75: SIDE EVENT REPORT

May 24, 2022

Tile of event: Moving towards equity: Innovative approaches to increase access to affordable NCD medicines and products. 

PATH, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Coalition for Access to NCD Medicines & Products took the opportunity to gather a multisectoral panel to highlight a key problem for people living with NCDs – inconsistent availability and affordability of medicines and products. Learn more here.

FIRST-EVER GLOBAL COVERAGE TARGETS FOR DIABETES ADOPTED AT THE 75TH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY 

May 28, 2022

For the first time ever, WHO Member States have supported the creation of global targets for diabetes, as part of recommendations to strengthen and monitor diabetes responses within national noncommunicable disease (NCD) programmes. Learn more. 

AFRICA CDC LAUNCHES NEW STRATEGY ON NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES

April 25, 2022

From April 25th to 28th 2022, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) organized the Member States and Stakeholders workshop to validate and launch its five years Non-Communicable Diseases, Injuries and Mental Health (NCDI/MH) strategy. 

INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE ON NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

April 12, 2022

Hosted by the Government of Ghana, Government of Norway and the World Health Organization, the International Strategic Dialogue on NCDs and the SDGs will take the next decisive step towards comprehensive action on NCDs and achieving SDG 3.4. Read more.

WHO NCD/WIN Technical Working Group

In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the WHO NCD/WIN created a Technical Working Group (TWG) on COVID-19 and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The TWG objectives are: 1) To support countries in their efforts to strengthen the design and implementation of policies, including for resilient health systems and health services and infrastructure, to treat people living with NCDs and prevent and control their risk factors during the COVID-19 outbreak, with a particular focus on countries most vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19; 2) To limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on avoidable mortality and avoidable disability for people living with or affected by NCDs (PLWANCDs) and their risk factors.

East African Diabetes Study Group Congress

In partnership with the Ministry of Health, Uganda, the East African Diabetes Study Group held their 5th Congress from 24-26 February, 2020 in Entebbe, Uganda.  During this Congress the attendees discussed critical questions such how to translate policy into action; how to incorporate the voice of the marginalized, civil society business, the impact of unifying the public and private healthcare systems into one, critical issues on health care delivery and who will fix it; and why the future is African.   

Third Global NCD Alliance Forum

Sharjah: Third Global NCD Alliance Forum took place from 9-11 February 2020, in Sharjah, UAE. It provided the NCD civil society to unite and monitor governments’ progress and advocate for action to implement global pledges five years ahead of the next UN HLM and the 2025 date for globally agreed NCD targets.

Categories: Global, Innovation Fund

WHO prequalifies first biosimilar medicine

18 Dec 2019 – WHO prequalifies first biosimilar medicine to increase worldwide access to life-saving breast cancer treatment.  “WHO prequalification of biosimilar trastuzumab is good news for women everywhere,” says Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Women in many cultures suffer from gender disparity when it comes to accessing health services. In poor countries, there is the added burden of a lack of access to treatment for many, and the high cost of medicines. Effective, affordable breast cancer treatment should be a right for all women, not the privilege of a few.” 

WHO launches first-ever insulin prequalification program.

21 Nov 2019 – WHO launches first-ever insulin prequalification program.  “WHO’s prequalification is expected to raise access to insulin by facilitating the entry of quality-assured products in the global market, thereby helping expand choice and reduce prices. Only three manufacturers control the bulk of the worldwide market for insulin. Data from 24 countries collected by WHO from 2016–19 found that human insulin was available in just 61% of health facilities and analogue insulins in 13%. Mariângela Simão, MD, MSc, WHO’s Assistant Director General for Medicines and Health products, explained: “Prequalifying products from additional companies will hopefully help to level the playing field and ensure a steadier supply of quality insulin in all countries.”