In this episode of Voices of the Health Revolution, Gina Sanchez speaks with Dr Téa Collins from the World Health Organization and Tamara Schudel from Roche about the WHO Young Researchers Programme — a global initiative strengthening research capacity in low- and middle-income countries to tackle noncommunicable diseases and mental health challenges. The conversation explores how empowering early-career researchers and fostering multisector partnerships can accelerate progress on NCDs and drive innovation where it’s needed most.

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more: actonncds.org

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Hon Jahnel Nisbett says she knew her government’s awareness-raising on NCDs was working when a schoolgirl corrected the Sweet Potato Pie recipe that she was reading out to the girl’s class. “No —that’s too much sugar!” she exclaimed. The Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis has the third highest NCDs mortality rate in the Americas, according to the Pan American Health Organization. In today’s episode Nisbett, Minister of Health, Gender and Social Development in the Nevis Administration, outlines the unique challenges faced by the country and its responses to date to the growing epidemic. 

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The guests in this episode are Liz Arnanz Daugan, Policy and Advocacy Manager at NCD Alliance, and Owen Jackson, Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK (CRUK). They chat about the leadership role that civil society, including organisations like CRUK, plays in bringing about policy changes to create healthier environments. Examples in the UK include new legislation to create the first ever smokeless generation and a law banning advertising of unhealthy foods. Collaboration with other organisations and the ability to adapt to a fast-changing environment are keys to success, notes Owen. This is another episode from our Leadership Dialogue series, conversations recorded in early 2025 for our Time to Lead campaign, which will culminate in the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health, on 25 September 2025.

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more Leadership dialogues: actonncds.org/stories/leadership-dialogues

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In this episode we’re speaking about leadership with the new President of the NCD Alliance Board of Directors, Leslie Rae Ferat, in the context of the huge challenges posed by the upcoming High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health (HLM4). Also Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, Leslie received a Luther L. Terry Award at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health in June for her pioneering work. While the tobacco control movement continues to contend with industry interference and a major funding gap, Leslie says it can offer the broader NCDs response the tool of tobacco taxes, which, along with other health taxes, should be a easy investment decision for governments.

As a leader, Leslie says her priorities will be to: encourage collaboration, create platforms to raise the voices of people living with NCDs, and champion evidence-based advocacy. “The two big priorities for us will be really solid outcomes at the High-Level Meeting and putting into place a sound and innovative strategy for the next four to five years for the NCDA,” adds the NCDA President.

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a special episode of the show. Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Global NCDA Forum in Rwanda, Dr Mohammed M Seyam and Maleeqah Karriem recorded one of a series of Leadership Dialogues created for NCDA's Time to Lead campaign. In the conversation, they share insights into their NCD advocacy journeys — and why they are speaking up not only for themselves, but also for their communities and all people living with NCDs. "Ideas start with only one person talking about something, and then the group would talk about it, and then a community would talk about it, and then slowly, with a campaign like this, the whole world can talk about what we do and what we want to do," says Mohammed.

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more Leadership dialogues: actonncds.org/stories/leadership-dialogues

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Fiscal policies for the NCD response go beyond taxes on harmful products like tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Kenya has recently applied a two percent levy on all tobacco products manufactured or imported into the country. It will be a “game changer” says one of the guests on today’s episode, Celine Awuor, CEO of the International Institute for Legislative Affairs. On the other hand, action on alcohol lags behind that of tobacco, in part because of society’s continued acceptance of alcohol use. That emboldens the alcohol industry, says our second guest, Jacqui Drope, who leads the RESET programme at Vital Strategies. “When our technical teams are walking in the door to meet with government officials, Big Alcohol is just walking out of the room.”

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After working together for years addressing cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at city level, colleagues at C/Can and Roche looked back at the high and low points of their partnership. Each organisation then decided independently that it was time to create a framework to help structure their multisector collaboration and share their learnings with others interested in partnerships. They brought in outside experts and after about a year produced their Collaboration Framework, a tool that has been spotlighted by the World Economic Forum. In this episode, we’re speaking with Harold Cottin, Head of Global Public Affairs at C/Can, and Fernando Arnaiz, Access Lead for low- and mid-income countries at Roche, about the journey to create the framework.

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

La Alianza de ENT lanzó en 2024 el Llamamiento a liderar las ENT como una herramienta esencial de sensibilización, instando a todos los gobiernos a avanzar en sus compromisos en la prevención y control de ENT. Hace un llamado a los líderes mundiales a tomar decisiones efectivas en la próxima Reunión de Alto Nivel de la ONU sobre la prevención y control de ENT y la promoción de la salud mental y el bienestar, que tendrá lugar el próximo 25 de Septiembre en Nueva York. La carta está abierta a la firma de la sociedad civil, incluyendo organizaciones e individuos.¿Qué significa liderar en materia de ENT en 2025? 

¿Cómo podemos generar presión para que los gobiernos actúen? Nuestra coordinadora de la Campaña de la Semana Mundial de Acción, Gina Sánchez, analizó estas preguntas y la carta abierta con Jimena Márquez, Directora de Comunicación de Alianza de ENT, en este episodio de Voces de la Revolución de la Salud.

Súmate al Llamamiento a liderar: https://actonncds.org/es/pasa-a-la-accion/llamamiento-liderar-ents

Voces de la revolución en salud es una serie de podcasts que destaca a las y los activistas pioneros que están liderando las acciones más audaces para proteger nuestro derecho universal a la salud, incluso cuando eso implica tomar una posición en contra las grandes industrias que lo amenazan.

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Today we’re speaking with Anu Gomanju and Edith Mukantwari, advocates for strengthening the global response to NCDs and both themselves living with NCDs. Anu works with the NCDI Poverty Network as well as patient and family organizations such as the Global Alliance for Rheumatic and Congenital Hearts, while Edith is Executive Director of the Africa Diabetes Alliance. Both our guests stress that the NCD response must move beyond treating people living with NCDs in a token way, to one of meeting their needs so they can live productive, healthy lives. This includes providing resources so that people living with NCDs can contribute meaningfully to preparations for the 4th High-Level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being, in September this year.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we’re looking ahead to UHC Day, on December 12. The 2024 theme is Health: it’s on the government! UHC of course stands for Universal Health Coverage, and today we’re talking about financing for UHC and its relationship to NCDs financing. Our guest is Professor David Watkins, of the departments of Medicine and Global Health at the University of Washington. We will delve into issues including how government financing for UHC will by necessity be dominated by NCDs prevention and care, which is now paid in large part by out-of-pocket spending. David also points out how investing in the so-called ‘best buys’ to tackle NCDs generates a limited amount of revenue, so that governments must also work to raise more funds overall and ensure that enough revenue is dedicated to health and to NCDs specifically. Finally, David outlines some of his current research ahead of the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2025, including on the affordability of medicines.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are known for their leadership in advocating globally for action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Jamaica Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Christopher Tufton explains how and why in this episode of the NCD Alliance podcast, Voices of the health revolution. One notable success he singled out is Jamaica Moves, a programme to encourage the general public to be physically active, which builds on people’s love of music and dance. Looking ahead to the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025, it’s time to declare the NCDs epidemic as a global health emergency, said the Minister. “We are losing our population and indeed the global population in many jurisdictions are on the decline, largely because of premature illness and premature mortality.”

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July, NCD Alliance published The Call To Lead open letter which serves as a crucial advocacy tool, urging all governments to fulfil their commitments to address the burden of NCDs. It calls on Member States to take decisive action at the Fourth UN High-level Meeting on NCDs in September 2025. Open to civil society endorsement, including both organisations and individuals, this sign-on letter will be delivered to world leaders next year.
What does it mean to lead on NCDs in 2024? How can we create pressure points for governments to take action? Our Global Week for Action Campaign Coordinator, Gina Sanchez, discussed these questions and the open letter itself with NCD Alliance Policy and Advocacy Director Alison Cox in the latest episode of the Voices of the Health Revolution. 🗨️ "Leaders have a moral imperative to urgently address the global epidemic of noncommunicable diseases. NCDs are not just a health crisis—they threaten our collective future, deepen inequalities, and hinder sustainable development," says Alison. 

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: actonncds.org/take-action/call-to-lead-on-ncds

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This is our third episode on the theme of leadership and the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs (UNHLM). It features the voices of youth working to address the noncommunicable disease (NCD) emergency. “It’s really important to talk about who has the power to make decisions,” said physician Apoorva Gomber, who acted as host. All the guests agreed that youth are already acting as leaders globally but that their work needs to be better incorporated into policy-making about NCDs. The definition of leadership should also be broadened, said Swarnima Bhattacharya, founder of Gytree, which focuses on NCDs and women in India. “There are people who are working through community radio, people who are raising awareness in education, there are doctors who are building communities also… obviously youth are at the forefront because they have mobility and energy.” Looking to the UNHLM, priorities should include 1. Stronger political commitments and finances, 2. Equitable access to prevention, screening and treatment for NCDs, especially for marginalized people, and 3. Addressing commercial determinants of health, including marketing of unhealthy products, said Queen Morkporkpor Doe, from Ghana.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Bank is co-hosting the Second global dialogue on sustainable financing for NCDs and mental health, 20-21 June 2024, in Washington DC. Ahead of the meeting we spoke with Dr Monique Vledder, Practice Manager of the Global Health, Nutrition and Population Unit at the Bank. She stressed the importance of World Bank President Ajay Banga declaring in April that the Bank intended to reach 1.5 billion people with healthcare programmes. Vledder is hoping the Dialogue helps to build consensus on policy recommendations and strategies that will feed into the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025. “We’re just delighted that at the core of that is country leadership — there’s a very very large group of ministers of health and their senior staff joining the Dialogue to build a consensus and the recommendations for what’s next.”

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Voices of the health revolution we hear about two sources of leadership that will be key as the global NCD community works toward the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs. Not surprisingly, the three speakers all point to people living with NCDs as uniquely qualified to spearhead progress. “We are not just key stakeholders but we hold a very unique expertise… that no other expert has, because we know what it’s like to live with the condition,” says Lucía Feito Allonca.

Another source of leadership and fuel for the NCD movement is collaboration, notes Alejandro Daly, who is also deeply involved in the climate change and mental health movements. He predicts that health will become the North Star of global cooperation and multilateralism and within health, NCDs will be the focal point. Other bridges should be built with advocates working for healthy food and those trying to uncover health-harming industries like tobacco and alcohol, says episode host Ogweno Stephen.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Find out more: https://actonncds.org/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Prevention is better than cure, and this couldn’t be truer when it comes to noncommunicable diseases. In this podcast, Dr Monika Arora, President of NCD Alliance and Executive Director of HRIDAY shares the facts about NCD prevention and how governments can show true leadership in protecting the health of their populations by implementing tried-and-true policies and programmes. She also shines a spotlight on health harming industries, like junk food, tobacco and fossil fuels, and their interference in health policy making in countries around the world. As we approach the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health in 2025, Monika shares one key message with decision makers everywhere: It’s time to take the lead on NCDs.

This podcast comes with a bonus: our host is Snehal Nandagawli, Chapter Lead at Blue Circle Diabetes Foundation & Global Diabetes Advocate, who adds her poignant perspectives to the conversation!

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often hear that mental health is neglected in part because of the stubborn stigma associated with living with a mental health condition in many — if not most — parts of the world. In an attempt to spotlight this neglected topic, in this episode we speak with two advocates for mental health, one based in Africa the other in South-east Asia. Charity Muturi and Yves Zuniga discuss if mental health indicators worldwide are improving. They also describe their advocacy plans for 2024 and beyond to ensure more focus, and resources, are invested in mental health globally.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more about the Global Week for Action on NCDs: actonncds.org
#ActOnNCDs

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The number of people displaced by natural disasters, conflict and other factors continues to grow. In 2023, 299 million people needed humanitarian assistance and protection, (10% more than at the end of 2022, according to the Global Humanitarian Overview 2024). Many of them are living with noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, but until recently their specific needs were virtually ignored in planning for disaster relief and recovery. That is slowly changing.

From 27 to 29 February, UN Member States will meet at the Global high-level technical meeting on noncommunicable diseases in humanitarian settings. Organised by the World Health Organization and the UN Refugee Agency, the closed meeting in Copenhagen will assemble NCD, emergency, refugee, and health systems experts, along with UN agencies, academic bodies and non-state actors, all dedicated to strengthening the integration of NCDs in humanitarian responses.

Ahead of the meeting, NCD Alliance published the briefing paper, Neglected and in crisis: NCDs as a priority in humanitarian settings, which contains many recommendations on improving how NCDs can be better included in humanitarian responses. Today, we’re speaking with two people who will be closely watching the results of that meeting. Dr Catherine Karekezi is the executive director of the NCD Alliance Kenya, and Megan Sheridan is the Programme Manager of the Global Oncology Network of the US-based organisation Direct Relief.

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more about the Global Week for Action on NCDs: actonncds.org

#ActOnNCDs

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Small island developing states (SIDS) are being battered by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In response, a series of events were organised in recent years to examine SIDS’ current situation and needs. The latest of these was the SIDS Ministerial Conference, held in Barbados in June. Strategic guidance for the Conference was provided by a policy expert group co-chaired by Sir George Alleyne and Sir Collin Tukuitonga. In our new episode we speak to the co-chairs about the Ministerial Conference and the events that pre-dated it as well as about the Bridgetown Declaration generated by the Ministerial Conference, and what it will take to achieve its calls to action. While recognising that making progress on NCDs prevention and care will require constant, long-term effort, both men are optimistic and already see signs of progress.

Find out more about the SIDS Ministerial Conference: https://ncdalliance.org/news-events/news/bridgetown-declaration-brings-high-hopes-for-healthier-sids

'Voices of the Health Revolution' is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Discover more about the Global Week for Action on NCDs: actonncds.org

#ActOnNCDs

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.