Around 400 delegates including civil society leaders, healthcare experts, policymakers and specialists from 80 countries across six continents are converging in Sharjah for the third edition of the Global NCD Alliance Forum 2020 from February 9-11 to take forward the emirate’s mandate of turning the spotlight on and galvanising action for the non-communicable disease epidemic, one of the most urgent health and development challenges of the 21st century.

The Forum is organised by UAE-based non-profit, Friends Of Cancer Patients in partnership with the global NCD Alliance, under the theme ‘Bridging the Gap’. Sharjah’s leading efforts in reducing the NCD burden stems from the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and Founder and Royal Patron of FOCP, International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC.

Representatives from national and regional NCD alliances, global stakeholders and experts will unite at the Forum in a bid to transform global commitments on NCDs into action at national and local levels.

NCDs cause seven in 10 deaths globally every year, making it one of the leading causes of preventable illness and related disability worldwide (except in Africa). NCDs such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and mental and neurological disorders led to 41 million deaths in 2018 due to high tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity, amongst other risk factors.

The three-day Forum will be attended by 100+ representatives from national and regional NCD Alliances from over 40 countries, 40+ youth leaders and people living with NCDs, as well as renowned NCD and general health experts, who will partake in strategic discussions and bring their unique local experiences to four plenary sessions and 18 workshops, pushing forward Sharjah’s agenda of identifying innovative, bold and practical action steps to scale up prevention and treatment of NCDs, reduce mortality rates, and thereby unblock the barriers to good health.

More than 40 speakers will be addressing the five main plenaries to bridge major gaps in the global NCD response and prevention and identify pathways to accelerate progress at the NCD Alliance Forum this year.