UNGA 2025: The political economy of non-communicable diseases
G2H2, TWN and PHM invite you to an online panel conversation Unpacking the Political Economy of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD’s).
When: Thursday 9 October at 12h UTC, 13h CET and 7am EST
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/y3te62m2
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases — remain among the greatest global health challenges. In 2021 alone, NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths, representing 75% of all non-pandemic-related mortality worldwide (WHO). The burden, however, is deeply unequal: developing countries account for 82% of these deaths.
High-cost medicines and care further strain already fragile public health systems, reinforcing inequities in access within and across countries. At the same time, transnational corporations driving the tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed food industries fuel the epidemic and must be held accountable.
At the 2025 UN General Assembly, Member States adopted the Political Declaration on NCDs that will shape a UN Roadmap beyond 2030. Did countries take the chance to confront the blind spots of previous frameworks: the absence of strong regulatory measures to curb harmful industries, the persistent barriers to equitable access to medicines and technologies created by intellectual property and trade rules, the inadequate scale of commitments on financing and universal health coverage, and, at the core, the continued reliance on voluntarism rather than binding obligations, a pattern that risks entrenching inequities and weak accountability?
This panel discussion, jointly convened by G2H2, TWN and PHM, will take a critical political economy lens to unpack the declaration and assess its implications.
The panel will feature key voices from civil society and academia:
· K. M. Gopakumar, Third World Network: moderator
· Professor T. Sundaraman, People's Health Movement (India): He will reflect on the systemic challenges faced in responding to NCDs in the Global South, while also linking the UN declaration to the broader normative and policy frameworks of the World Health Organisation.
· Professor Fran Baum, University of Adelaid: She will explore the commercial determinants of health and the ways corporate practices and global trade structures shape the NCD agenda.
· Nicoletta Dentico, Society for International Development : She will speak about the harms of the industrialized food system and toxic products, highlighting glyphosate’s cancer risks, failed food regulations, unfair taxation, and how powerful industries like the Italian alcohol lobby influence and resist WHO and UN health policy.
