Last week, the McCabe Centre had the privilege of attending the 4th Global NCD Alliance Forum on 13-15 February, in Kigali, Rwanda - an inspiring gathering of advocates, experts, and changemakers committed to tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
With the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs on the horizon, the Forum attracted 700 delegates from 90 countries, and served as a powerful catalyst to unite and mobilise civil society, driving bold advocacy efforts at local, regional, and global levels.
Our Regional Manager for Africa, Rachel Devotsu, along with Rwanda NCD Alliance and Development Gateway convened a session on: The role of law and data in implementing the NCD best buys: Case studies from the African region.
The session highlighted case studies from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda showing how laws are being adopted to implement the best buys for tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food. The case studies were drawn from the experiences of the Alumni of the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer International Legal Training Program – Spencer Bugingo, Rwanda NCD Alliance; Mable Kukunda, Uganda National Health Consumers’ Organisation; Fabian Oriri, International Institute for Legislative Affairs.
It also explored how to make best use of data and involve people with lived experience of NCDs in advocacy for implementation of the NCD best buys, with Winnie Awuor of Development Gateway: An IREX Venture and Stephen Ogweno, Founder & CEO, Stowelink Foundation.
“The Forum provided the McCabe Centre alumni an opportunity to showcase proven interventions that are having an impact on reducing the health and economic effects of NCDs in East Africa. We were also challenged on how to sustain the momentum so far and apply lessons learned to address emerging risk factors such as air pollution,” Rachel said.
In addition, Rachel also participated in a session on tobacco control and lung disease alongside the NCD Alliance and Global Alliance for Tobacco Control.
Other highlights of the NCD Forum included:
- The preconference session on air pollution focused on key advocacy points for the upcoming UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in September. It emphasised addressing air pollution not just as an environmental issue but as a critical health concern. Key priorities included urging the WHO to develop cost-effective interventions ("best buys"), affirming air pollution targets after the March Cartagena meeting, securing actionable national commitments, and strengthening multisectoral collaboration across government sectors, including health, agriculture, and energy.
- Sessions on innovative financing for NCDs including use of Investment cases and health taxes.
The Forum’s focus on Leadership and best practice in NCD prevention and control from Africa and beyond was also an excellent opportunity to connect with aligned organisations and colleagues in this important year for action on NCDs, leading up to the September UN High Level meeting on NCDs.