BMJ Blogs: Richard Smith: How well are countries doing in responding to the NCD pandemic?
Richard Smith, chair of the board of trustees of icddr,b, chair of the board of Patients Know Best, and trustee of C3 Collaborating for Health, discusses the results of a study examining the health systems of 23 low- and middle-income countries and factors that affect their capacity to respond to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as well as an accompanying website that gives each country scores for progress against NCDs. Smith notes, “The hope is that the results will reach policymakers, campaigners, and others, and spur greater and smarter action to counter the pandemic of NCD” (9/18).