Saturday, February 15

4th Global Forum on noncommunicable diseases to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, Feb 13-15

Some 700 delegates from 66 countries working in noncommunicable disease prevention and care will attend the 4th Global NCD Alliance Forum (The Forum) to be held in Kigali, Rwanda February 13-15. This is the first edition of the event to be held on the African continent. 

The Forum (in-person only) is co-hosted by the NCD Alliance and Rwanda NCD Alliance, in collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust serves as a strategic partner for the event. 

The Forum´s theme is Leadership on NCDs towards 2025 & beyond and anticipates the Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs on 24 September. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), will address the Opening Ceremony. He will be joined by ministerial representatives, experts and advocates who will participate in a series of plenaries and sessions over three days focused on political and community leadership, financing, disease prevention and care in sub-Saharan Africa, and the state of play of global programs around alcohol related diseases, tobacco control, oral health, diabetes, obesity and more.

Every year, 43 million people die from NCDs. These diseases – which include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions – account for over 75 per cent of deaths worldwide. Despite their prevalence, NCDs are the most underfunded global health issue relative to the billions of people impacted.  

NCDs affect everyone, everywhere, but they disproportionately impact people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to care is limited. Among people in LMICs, NCDs and injuries kill more people under age 40 than HIV, TB, and maternal deaths combined.

Keynote speakers confirmed to date include:

  • Princess Padmaja Kumari Parmar, founder Friends of Mewar, Global Ambassador, Breakthrough T1D
  • Katie Dain, CEO, NCD Alliance
  • Dr Joseph Mucumbitsi, Chairperson, Rwanda NCD Alliance
  • Prof. Claude Mambo Muvunyi, Director General, Rwanda Biomedical Centre
  • Dr Gina Agiostratidou, Program Director, Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
  • Ms Jumana Qamruddin, Global Program Lead, Healthcare Delivery, Health Nutrition and Population Global Practice, World Bank
  • Dr Muhammed Abdulaziz, Head of Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC
  • H.E Veronica Mueni Nduva, Secretary General, East African Community
  • Mrs Ofori Agyemang, Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Ghana Ministry of Health
  • Dr Gladwell Gathecha, Acting Head of Division of Non-communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Kenya
  • Dr Kofi Mensah Nyarko, Regional Adviser NCDs WHO Regional Office for Africa
  • Dr Githinji Gitahi, CEO of AMREF Health Africa 
  • Vuyiseka Dubula, AIDS activist and Head of Community, Rights & Gender at Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

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