NCD policy and programme monitoring
In May 2013, the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly adopted the comprehensive global monitoring framework for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (53). This allows the monitoring of trends and assessment of progress made in the implementation of national strategies and plans on noncommunicable diseases. With the extension of the Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2020 to 2030, the global monitoring framework was updated, with targets aligned to 2030 (22). The SouthEast Asia Region NCD roadmap has adopted the targets for 2030, as given in Table 2. There are additional disease-specific targets, which are helpful in specific disease areas, and these will also serve as tracer indicators.
Monitoring NCD risk factors
Investing in surveillance and monitoring is essential to obtain reliable and timely data at national and subnational levels through regular NCD risk-factor surveys and country-capacity assessments to prioritize interventions, assess implementation and learn from the impact of NCD prevention and control.
It is recommended that national surveys use standardized methods designed to capture multiple risk factors and provide a more granular assessment of the on-the-ground situation in relation to national policies and programmes. Opportunities to collect NCD-related information in other related surveys are encouraged. Surveys should also be planned to provide reliable disaggregated estimates to identify vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups to ensure that no one is left behind.
Morbidity and disease registries
Disease registries and health facility-level data, as appropriate, are critical for prioritizing and selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective interventions for NCD prevention and control. Cancer registries have shown the way, and the experience can be used for other conditions.
Strengthening reliable vital registration and civil registration systems, and improvements in medical cause of death reporting are essential for good-quality mortality data. Strengthening systems for collecting cause-specific mortality data on a routine basis is essential for tracking the progress towards the targets.
Data for action and accountability
Dedicated resources and institutional capacity-building are essential for ensuring timely and reliable data from all sectors, including the private sector.
Country-specific accountability frameworks can be considered, in alignment with the WHO NCD accountability framework (22). Development and execution of a regional implementation research agenda to achieve universal health coverage for NCD services through the development of a South-East Asia Region NCD delivery network will also be a means to use the data collected. WHO will update the status of NCD prevention and control through a web portal to bring together data from different sources and render it comparable to allow tracking of global, regional, and country progress.
Research into implementation is a tool that must be used in NCD prevention and control as many interventions are relatively new and only through testing them on the ground can countries learn about the challenges and opportunities. Evaluation of NCD programmes should consider outcome and impact in addition to the monitoring of progress. Impact will take time, but having a good grip on the indicators will help to strengthen accountability and spur action across sectors. NCD data should be included as an integral component of the national and subnational health information systems aligned with the WHO SCORE package (54).