BMJ Global Health (Apr 2024)

The reported impact of non-communicable disease investment cases in 13 countries

  • Alexey Kulikov,
  • Douglas Webb,
  • Dudley Tarlton,
  • Toker Ergüder,
  • Henrik Khachatryan,
  • Nicholas Banatvala,
  • Anna Kontsevaya,
  • Bekir Keskinkilic,
  • John Juliard Go,
  • Diana Andreasyan,
  • Roy Small,
  • Aliina Altymysheva,
  • Giuseppe Troisi,
  • Roman Chestnov,
  • Erwin Arthur Phillips,
  • Taraleen Malcolm,
  • Hero Kol,
  • Nargiza Khodjaeva,
  • Mussie Gebremichael,
  • Addisu Worku Tessema,
  • Asmamaw Bezabeh Workneh,
  • Tamu Davidson,
  • Michelle Harris,
  • Nurgul Ibraeva,
  • Aigul Nurmatova,
  • Krisada Hanbunjerd,
  • Sushera Bunluesin,
  • Olivia Nieveras,
  • Banu Ekinci,
  • Oyoo Charles Akiya,
  • Hafisa Kasule,
  • Aidah Nakanjako,
  • Shukhrat Shukurov,
  • Nazokat Kasymova,
  • Patrick Banda,
  • Ernest Kakoma,
  • Nathan N Bakyaita,
  • Nadia Putoud,
  • Scott Chiossi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014784
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 4

Abstract

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading health and development challenge worldwide. Since 2015, WHO and the United Nations Development Programme have provided support to governments to develop national NCD investment cases to describe the socioeconomic dimensions of NCDs. To assess the impact of the investment cases, semistructured interviews and a structured process for gathering written feedback were conducted between July and October 2022 with key informants in 13 countries who had developed a national NCD investment case between 2015 and 2020. Investment cases describe: (1) the social and economic costs of NCDs, including their distribution and projections over time; (2) priority areas for scaled up action; (3) the cost and returns from investing in WHO-recommended measures to prevent and manage NCDs; and (4) the political dimensions of NCD responses. While no country had implemented all the recommendations set out in their investment case reports, actions and policy changes attributable to the investment cases were identified, across (1) governance; (2) financing; and (3) health service access and delivery. The pathways of these changes included: (1) stronger collaboration across government ministries and partners; (2) advocacy for NCD prevention and control; (3) grounding efforts in nationally owned data and evidence; (4) developing mutually embraced ‘language’ across health and finance; and (5) elevating the priority accorded to NCDs, by framing action as an investment rather than a cost. The assessment also identified barriers to progress on the investment case implementation, including the influence of some private sector entities on sectors other than health, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes in senior political and technical government officials. The results suggest that national NCD investment cases can significantly contribute to catalysing the prevention and control of NCDs through strengthening governance, financing, and health service access and delivery.