UK Working Group on NCDs

‘From Westminster to the World’: NCDs can no longer be sidelined

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.

Calling on the UK government to support a strong Political Declaration

The UK Working Group on NCDs is concerned that the most recent draft (known as Rev 2, published on 25 July 2025) of the Political Declaration of the UN High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health not only lacks ambition but is in danger of backsliding on earlier positions. We have written to the UK’s Mission at the UN in New York, setting out some of these issues and urging him to bring them (and those of the NCD Alliance) to the attention of other Member States before the conclusion of negotiations in the next few days, so that the text can remain a strong tool for the prevention and control of NCDs globally.

Urgent response to UK aid cuts

The UK Working Group on NCDs strongly supports the statements by both Action for Global Health and Bond in response to the UK Government’s devastating announcement today of the cut in the UK’s overseas development assistance budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of gross national income to fund increases in defence spending.