WHA calls for investment in primary health care to address NCDs

At the 75th World Health Assembly, member states identified primary health care as a means to better deliver services that can help prevent and reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases on health systems.

“Focus on primary care will ensure the delivery of appropriate care that is people-centered, life stage-responsive, and setting-specific. Alignment of [the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases] with these strategies will help member states ensure responsiveness, timeliness and efficiency of the universal health care programs and services,” a delegate from the Philippines said Monday.

The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs sets out nine global NCD targets to be attained in 2025, which include a 25% relative reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025.

A delegate from Singapore said primary health care facilities need the most strengthening if the World Health Organization member countries are determined to take steps to prevent NCDs.

“We cannot accept that more people getting sick is a given. As governments, we need to make people healthier and prevent them from becoming chronically ill in the first place. Indeed, we need to focus on health care, not sickness care,” the delegate from Singapore said.

According to WHO, the four major NCDs — cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and diabetes — account for nearly 86% of deaths and 77% of the disease burden. And for every 10% increase in NCD mortality, economic growth is reduced by 0.5%.

But a draft implementation road map for the global action plan discussed this week, found that the global attention paid to NCDs over the past two decades has been insufficient to reduce the burden of NCDs, and that health system capacity has not kept up with the needs of NCDs.

According to the draft road map, while NCD prevention and control is weak in primary health care in many countries, the strengthening and scale-up of NCD interventions at the primary health care level will help to improve access and equitable coverage.

“Primary care is the first responder and gatekeeper for NCDs. Early diagnosis and good control of NCDs and their risk factors in primary care will reduce the disease complications that are leading to catastrophic health expenditures and premature deaths,” the road map stated.

African countries said more investment in primary care is needed. In a joint statement, countries under the WHO Regional Office for Africa said the ambitious goals in the control of cancers and other NCDs on the continent are being hindered by several “huge challenges” including a lack of resources to implement universal health coverage and an inadequate health workforce that is further depleted by brain drain.

“A large part of our population has insufficient resources. We want to offer them the necessary services and products so that they can have better health,” a representative from Mauritania said.

Sylvia Masebo, Zambia’s minister of health, added that with the African region threatened by various health emergencies, collaborative and regional partnerships are vital in responding to NCDs and in strengthening primary health care in the region.

“Key to this is sustainable health financing, especially with lack of resources. As livelihoods begin to rebuild following shocks of COVID-19, issues of malnutrition and other previously controlled problems may resurface,” she told the assembly. “We need to create a supportive environment for the implementation of comprehensive food and nutrition policies.”