Devex: Opinion: Investing in NCD prevention to finance sustainable development
Eduardo P. Banzon, principal health specialist in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of the Asian Development Bank

“…The lack of investments [in NCDs] in many countries … makes it crucial to reframe NCDs as a development issue rather than simply a health issue. The costs due to the increasing numbers of NCDs should be emphasized repeatedly and the adverse impact of these numbers and costs to economic growth and poverty reduction consistently highlighted. … [This effort] demands the strategic use of existing financing mechanisms from government budgetary allocations, national health insurance systems, bilateral and multilateral developmental assistance, private sector philanthropies and partnerships, and other mechanisms to finance [a] wide range of actions and innovations against NCDs — demands fully endorsed by those who were in the Innovations and Actions Against NCDs meeting convened last July and actions and innovations that we look forward to helping take seed and grow” (9/24).