Introduction

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes, account for almost two thirds of all deaths in the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region. In 2021, nearly half of these deaths occurred prematurely, between the ages of 30 and 69 years (1). A quarter of the adult population in the Region suffers from hypertension (2), and one in twelve adults has diabetes (3). Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) from diabetes increased by more than 80% between 2000 and 2019 (4).

Progress in the implementation of the regional action plan was presented in detail at the Seventy-fourth Regional Committee Meeting (5). The review indicated that while some progress has been made in the South-East Asia Region towards prevention and control of NCDs, it is slow and uneven, with substantial gaps in policy implementation and health care scale up. Sustaining the current gains, accelerating policy development to the best recommended levels, and developing innovative implementation strategies for coverage will be key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.4 target: by 2030 reduce by one third premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases through prevention and treatment, and promote mental health and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the vulnerabilities of people living with NCDs. In addition to the increased risk of severe disease and death, disruption in essential NCD services threatens to slow down progress and even reverse the gains in controlling NCDs. Disruption of treatment services for NCDs was reported in all countries of the South-East Asia Region in the global pulse survey of 2021 (6).

Addressing NCDs and including them as an integral part of pandemic preparedness and response will protect people and communities during future emergencies by establishing mechanisms that will enable uninterrupted access to services for NCDs and other chronic conditions, while reducing the risk of serious health complications.

At the Seventy-second World Health Assembly, the Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013– 2020 was extended to 2030 (7), and a global NCD implementation roadmap (2023–2030) was adopted at the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly (8).

The Seventy-fourth session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-east Asia decided to extend the regional action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs, 2013–2020 (9) to 2030, taking into account the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Decision SEA/RC74(2) also requested that the Regional Director develop a regional implementation roadmap for the prevention and control of NCDs, taking into account digital innovations and the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (10).