Tackling non-communicable diseases: addressing the needs of older people and promoting healthy ageing for all

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Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including mental health and neurological conditions, are the leading cause of death and disability globally. Their rising impact is widening the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, with serious consequences for individuals, societies, and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

Older people are often left behind in policy and practice, despite being disproportionately affected. 

What are NCDs?

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are chronic diseases that are not transmitted from person to person. They typically develop slowly and progress over time. NCDs include conditions such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, as well as mental health and neurological conditions, including dementia. NCDs are the leading cause of death globally, responsible for around 74% of all deaths, and 82% of all years lived with a disability, with a significant impact on older populations.

NCDs and older people: an overlooked crisis 

While men tend to die earlier from NCDs, women—especially older women—bear a heavier burden of ill health and disability from these conditions throughout life. Women of all ages also provide most of the unpaid care for people living with NCDs, often without adequate support. 

Older people face multiple barriers in accessing integrated NCD prevention and care, including lack of available services, systemic ageism, and discrimination. Global health funding is also hampering progress on NCDs and healthy ageing – just 2.3% of Development Assistance for Health goes to NCDs and 90% of DAH going to people younger than 60.

Older people are often completely excluded from health data or made invisible by a lack of disaggregation. This undermines efforts to understand and respond to their needs. Additionally, a focus on disease-specific programmes, rather than investing in integrated and person-centred primary health care, misses opportunities to address the complex needs of older populations and promote healthy ageing for all.

 

A path forward: integrated, inclusive approaches 

The impact of NCDs is not inevitable. By integrating NCD prevention and care into universal health coverage (UHC) and primary health care (PHC), whilst adopting a multi-sectoral approach to address the social, economic, commercial and environmental factors that contribute to NCDs, we can reduce health inequities and promote well-being across the life-course.  

Driving equitable action on NCDs and healthy ageing to achieve health for all at all ages

Access our report to read more about NCDs and healthy ageing.

Read more here.

Key actions to address NCDs in older people 

We call on governments and health stakeholders to: 

  1. Ensure equity in action on NCDs– Address the disproportionate impact of NCDs on older people by adopting an equity-based approach in healthcare funding, design, and delivery. 
  2. Integrate NCDs and healthy ageing into UHC and PHC – Make NCD prevention and care a core part of UHC and PHC, ensuring access to comprehensive services, from prevention to palliative care and long-term care and support, while protecting people from catastrophic healthcare costs. 
  3.  End the discriminatory focus on ‘premature mortality’ within the NCD agenda – Eliminate upper age caps in NCD frameworks; ensure data disaggregation by age, sex, and disability; and give greater attention to NCD-related deaths, ill health and disability across the life-course. 
  4. Invest in the health and care workforce – Strengthen the healthcare workforce to deliver integrated care for older people with NCDs, while recognising and supporting unpaid caregivers, particularly women. 
  5. Advance action on mental health and dementia – Fully integrate mental health and neurological conditions, including dementia, within health systems. 

By taking these steps, we can improve health outcomes for older people, reduce inequalities, and ensure a healthier future for all. 

 

Read more about our work in healthy ageing here.