Blog by Katie Jakeman (Age International)
On 27 January 2026, Action for Global Health (AfGH) brought together parliamentarians and advocates at Westminster to reaffirm the UK’s role in global health. As representatives of the UK Working Group on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Age International (Katie Jakeman) and The George Institute for Global Health (Jieun Lee) highlighted the urgent need for stronger political leadership on the world’s leading causes of death.
Why we gathered: a critical point for UK Aid
The event, titled From Westminster to the World: Securing Britain’s Leadership in Global Health, comes at a critical juncture. While the UK remains the second-largest government donor to global health, recent and successive cuts to UK aid have threatened decades of progress and will put lives at risk across the world.
Parliamentary champions are needed now more than ever to scrutinise the government’s next steps. Global health challenges – from climate change to pandemic preparedness – are deeply and profoundly interconnected, and they require a united, strategic voice from the UK Government. The event was a drop-in afternoon and gave us the opportunity both to speak to around 10 MPs and Lords and to share the UKWG’s two-pager briefing on Non-communicable Diseases at the Heart of Development with the parliamentarians themselves and with civil servants.
Our message
Discussions on global health too often sideline NCDs such as cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, cardiovascular conditions and dementia, seeing them – erroneously – as ‘diseases of affluence’. Our message to the parliamentarians directly addressed this misconception, highlighting the mismatch between the burden of NCDs in low-and middle-income countries compared to the attention and funding that they receive. In fact:
- Over three-quarters of NCD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
- Of the 15 million people who die prematurely from NCDs each year, 80% live in LMICs.
- As populations age, the number of people living with multiple NCDs is projected to rise significantly, especially in LMICs.
- Despite this, NCDs receive less than 5% of global health development assistance.
During the event, we highlighted that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) is impossible without addressing NCDs. We must move away from ‘vertical’ funding models that focus on single diseases and instead strengthen primary care to treat the whole person.
Our key asks for the UK Government
Throughout the event, AfGH members highlighted the importance of restoring aid spending to 0.7% of GNI, publishing a cross-government Global Health Strategy, and appointing a UK Special Envoy for Global Health, to provide coordination, leadership and accountability.
These were underpinned by the UKWG’s specific recommended actions on NCDs:
- Support implementation of the Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health as a vital staging post towards the SDGs.
- Embed NCDs within health‑system strengthening efforts.
- Ensure NCD inclusion within the evolving global health architecture, including the active engagement of civil society and people with lived experience.
- Invest in WHO ‘Best Buys’, such as taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks – interventions that, at a cost of just an average of US$3 per person per year could generate $1 trillion in economic benefits and save 12 million lives by 2030.
- Push back against policy interference from health‑harming industries, including tobacco and fossil fuels.
The UK has a strong legacy on global health, but leadership requires ambition, consistency and investment. By prioritising NCDs and committing to a coherent global health strategy, the UK can drive progress internationally while strengthening its own resilience and health security.
Header image is of a free medical camp organised by KARIKA, a local partner of Age International in Kenya (credit: MegNewts / Age International).
UK Working Group on NCDs 