A rich variety of sessions, including pre-conferences, high-level plenaries, plus interactive gatherings in the Community Zone, await delegates to the 4th Global NCD Alliance (NCDA) Forum in Rwanda, 13-15 February. The Forum will welcome over 700 delegates from 66 countries, representing a truly multisectoral audience spanning governments, multilateral organisations, academia, the private sector, plus civil society.
The Forum is strategically organised in Rwanda plus Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time, reflecting the significant burden of NCDs in the region, as well as the leadership, innovation, plus solutions emerging from many countries across the continent. It is also strategically timed, occurring just five months before the UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on NCDs on 24 September, which represents the next major opportunity to secure increased political commitment for NCDs at the highest level.
The event, co-organised by the NCD Alliance plus the Rwanda NCD Alliance, in collaboration with Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) plus the Ministry of Health, will probe multiple themes: inspiring leadership in addressing NCDs; how to mobilise sustainable financing to address the epidemic, plus powering up communities to collaborate with governments plus other partners in leading the response to NCDs.
Delegates can expect to be inspired by what’s working, reenergised plus motivated ahead of the HLM on NCDs, plus return home from Kigali with new connections from across the globe.
The Forum kicks off with the Opening Ceremony at the Kigali Convention Centre on 13 February. Building on the video address from Dr Tedros, WHO Director-General, the Opening will emphasize the catalytic potential of leadership on NCDs towards the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs plus Mental Health (UNHLM) in 2025, plus beyond. Other speakers will include Dr Monika Arora, NCDA President; Dr Joseph Mucumbitsi, Chairperson of the Rwanda NCD Alliance, plus Dr Gina Agiostratidou, Program Director of the Leona M. plus Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Strategic Partner of the 2025 Forum. Four plenary sessions will address key themes. The Opening Plenary, NCDs in the Africa Region, will highlight the regional policy context on NCDs plus health more broadly, plus lihat progress to date in the region since the last HLM in 2018. It will be moderated by Dr Githinji Gitahi, Group CEO of Amref Health Africa plus feature speakers:
Lea Kilenga, Executive Director of the Africa Sickle Cell Organisation;
Prof Claude Mambo Muvunyi, Director General of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre;
Dr Kofi Mensah Nyarko, Regional Adviser NCDs at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, and
Dr Mohammed Abdulaziz, Head of Disease Control plus Prevention at the Africa Centres for Disease Control plus Prevention (CDC).