Access Accelerated – Moving NCD Care Forward

We believe that:

NCDs are an urgent public health challenge. In 2015, approximately 75% of deaths due to NCDs occurred in low- and middle-income countries; almost half of these deaths occurred in people under age 70 and are considered premature.   Many are preventable with proper treatment and care, but health systems still struggle to respond effectively to burgeoning rates of NCDs.  Global development assistance for NCDs is low; in 2015, NCDs attracted only 1.3% of all development assistance for health ($475 million).  The high cost of NCD-related healthcare and the reduced productivity of patients leads to a loss of household income, trapping people in a cycle of poverty and limiting development more generally. On a larger scale, it is estimated that NCDs will cost LMICs US$21 trillion over the next three decades, posing a significant threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The private sector – particularly, the pharmaceutical industry – has a critical role to play in facilitating access to NCD care.  Systems-level changes needed to halt the growing burden of NCDs require a multi-sectoral approach. A variety of skills, creative ideas and resources are necessary to transform health systems and spur progress on complex health challenges.  NCDs are diverse and complicated, and the private sector brings deep expertise in 1) the specificity of individual NCDs and NCD treatments; 2) delivering care to individuals in need; and 3) research and development of innovative new treatments and care models.

Access Accelerated is stronger than the sum of its parts and is an impact-focused, holistic private sector contribution to the global effort on NCDs. A coordinated response – amongst and within sectors – is the only possible way to respond effectively to the systemic challenges to NCD care.  As a unified representative of the biopharmaceutical industry, we work closely with national and subnational governments, advocates, civil society, development agencies and multilaterals to align with shared priorities and support existing work.