The Lancet: Beating NCDs can help deliver universal health coverage
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez, president of Uruguay, and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO

“In WHO’s drive to ensure good health and care for all, there is a pressing need to step up global and national action on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and the factors that put so many people at risk of illness and death from these conditions worldwide. … At the 70th World Health Assembly in May 2017, governments endorsed the updated set of ‘best buys’ and other recommended interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs, which — when implemented — can support countries to reach Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4 of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one-third by 2030. By implementing these measures, governments will protect health, make populations stronger and more productive, save on health care costs, and — when they implement taxes on tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol — generate revenues that can be ploughed back into universal health coverage. … Changing the NCD paradigm is essential. … [W]e must expect — and help — governments to make the healthy choice the norm for their citizens. We look forward to meeting with government leaders in Uruguay to discuss ways to do just that” (9/23).