The 4th Global Week for Action on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) (6-12 September 2021) reached millions, thanks to all the community voices and civil society organisations who engaged in a week-long campaign online and in group led activities.
This year, the campaign united the NCD community under the theme of ‘community engagement’. We saw inspiring posts online of events, videos activities and even a football match in Cameroon – celebrating the power and potential of communities to bring about change.
More than 400 voices of change messages were shared on the campaign website and 59 events were organised and shared in our ‘Map of Impact’!
The #ActOnNCDs movement!
The 2021 #ActOnNCDs campaign superseded the momentum of the 2020 campaign. The hashtag reached 16.8 million people on Twitter alone. We also reached wider and more diverse audiences on newer platforms including TikTok and hosted live stream events on Instagram with people living with NCDs.
Governments and Institutions also shared their support! The Kenyan Ministry of Health, Public Health Scotland and Norway’s Minister of International Development highlighted the need to address gaps in community engagement with a message to ensure the involvement of all to push for progress on NCDs!
We received a record number of visitors to the website!
Given the ongoing pandemic, the campaign brought together many online activities such as webinars and virtual launches. We also had a revamp of the campaign website which received a RECORD number of visits than any other year.
The NCD community were also actively engaging with news media and conducting discussions related to the launch of the Global Charter on Meaningful Involvement of People Living with NCDs – which we launched that week - with wide readership and visibility in Africa.
Activities we saw during the week..
- Dr Andrew Fraser, Senior Advisor at Public Health Scotland published a blog calling for bold action and steps to tackle the availability of health-harming products (like alcohol and ultra-processed foods) and social and economic drivers of health such as poverty.
- During the week, NCD Alliance published a NEW Global Charter on Meaningful Involvement of People Living with NCDs. The Global Charter aims to have meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs embedded into organisational practices and mobilise all actors such as governments, international partners, private sector and civil society organisations. So far, 47 organisations have endorsed the Global Charter, across 26 countries. Find out how you can endorse the Charter here.
- We also launched a new campaign video, calling for more action on NCDs. It’s available on our YouTube channel, featuring a series of short videos from team members and NCD champions during the week!
- A report published during the week by the NCD Alliance, ‘A global NCD Agenda for Resilience and Recovery from COVID-19', outlines 12 recommendations across 3 pillars to build back better and fairer from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Health Finance Institute shared their NCD Stories during the campaign. As a person living with an NCD, listen to Debra’s story.
- Members of the NCD Community shared their perspective on the 2021 theme and what community engagement means to them as blogs on the campaign website.
2022 – are you ready?
The Global Week for Action on NCDs returns next year from 5 - 11 September 2022.
Finally, we’d like to thank everyone who took advantage of the unifying moment that the Global Week for Action provides for our global community to take action and call for action. Every voice counts to mobilise ACTION on noncommunicable diseases and improve lives everywhere. We’ll be announcing the theme for next year’s campaign very soon so watch this space. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to hear the latest or follow us on social media to hear more.