Driving action on non-communicable diseases

Improving health in low- and middle-income countries starts with prioritising the health of women. As world leaders gather to tackle the global non-communicable disease crisis, women’s health must be at the centre of the response. 

Chances are, you or someone you know is living with a non-communicable disease (NCD).

The numbers tell us that one in three people are living with an NCD today. They represent our parents, neighbours, and colleagues affected primarily by cardiometabolic conditions, cancer, and chronic respiratory illnesses. Some of these conditions are largely preventable or treatable with earlier identification and intervention. Estimates point to NCDs causing the premature deaths of more than 43 million people in 2021 globally, with about 18 million of those deaths occurring among people younger than 70.

Those losing their lives are often women—sisters, mothers, wives, and grandmothers, as evidenced by findings that are consistent within this special report focusing on women and NCDs. Women face obstacles to healthcare due to sociocultural barriers, gender and societal norms, their role as caregivers to family members, cultural stigma and beliefs, and financial constraints. Two out of three women will die from an NCD. Breast and cervical cancers are highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and are often diagnosed when the disease has progressed and there is little opportunity for resolution.

The Taskforce on Women and Non-Communicable Diseases notes that NCDs often impact women during their most productive years—which often means their children are in critical periods of growth and education—and therefore morbidity and mortality from NCDs in women can have profound impacts on entire families. If we want health to improve in LMICs, we must focus specifically on women’s health.  

The role of national and subnational governments in the provision of health is indispensable. However, ministries of health cannot be the sole actors at the country level accounting for the broader impact of improved health (or the ongoing consequences of poor health). It is a whole-of-government need to consider the system's impact of policies that help or hinder population health—which is very often hard to do in short political cycles and with global crises like Covid-19, which is still consequential to health budgets.

Maternal and child health has long been central to international development, but the growing burden of NCDs calls for greater focus on women’s health, especially in countries undergoing economic transition. In LMICs, health progress faces a double challenge: persistent infectious diseases alongside a rapid rise in chronic conditions fuelled by urbanisation, sedentary lifestyles, increased wealth, population ageing, and shifting diets from globalised food systems. Applying a gender lens reframes women not only as caregivers but as vital economic contributors, creating opportunities to strengthen health and development.

The articles and op-eds in this special report set the tone for a view from the community level, through the eyes of women and with a pro-health lens. It is a contribution to the global dialogue surrounding NCDs, on the eve of a critical meeting for global health at the Fourth UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs. Healthier populations are productive populations—and by extension, healthier women can lead to healthier populations.  

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The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Re:solve Global Health.

Dr Ponda Motsepe-Ditshego is the vice-president, Inclusive Global Health and Impact at Amgen Inc.