Experts Highlight Advocacy Agenda On Day Two Of Global NCD Alliance Forum In Sharjah

A world-leading panel of experts on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has told hundreds of delegates on day two of the second Global NCD Alliance Forum in Sharjah that international human rights and social justice – or a lack of them – are two of the key factors that binds sufferers together. They say that now is the time for action to make the highest levels of decision-makers sit up and take notice.

The comments were made at the second plenary session of the forum, ‘Uniting the NCD Movement for 2018: Framing the Narrative, Advocating for Action and Amplifying Voices’. The panel highlighted the NCD’s initiative ‘Our Views, Our Voices’, which resulted in the ‘Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs’, a grassroots consultation process where two thousand participants from 76 countries contributed to better understanding the needs, challenges, and priorities of people living with NCDs.

Having held the highly successful inaugural edition and influenced global agendas on NCDs in 2015, Sharjah-based Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) has welcomed more than 350 delegates and 80 expert speakers including scientists, medical pioneers, support groups, NGOs and civil societies from 68 countries across five continents such as Kenya, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Brazil, Jordon, India, Zanzibar and many others.