In a powerful show of solidarity, civil society organisations on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) from across ASEAN and the WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR) convened in Kuala Lumpur to affirm their commitment to driving regional action on NCDs.
The gathering occurred in the lead-up to the UN Multistakeholder Hearing scheduled for 2 May in New York, an official part of the preparatory process toward the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on NCDs and Mental Health. The Kuala Lumpur meeting, held on 21 to 22 April 2025, aimed to consolidate civil society perspectives from the region and advocate for stronger political commitments at the global stage.
“Civil society’s voice is indispensable in bridging the gap between political commitments and real change,” says Dato’ Dr Saunthari Somasundaram, co-chairperson of NCD Malaysia and board member of the Global NCD Alliance. “Our collective action today will determine whether the global promises made at the UN truly transform the health and well-being of millions in our region.”
Recognising that NCDs account for two-thirds to three-quarters of all deaths in the region, participants adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health. The declaration urges governments to lead across five key areas:
- Accelerate implementation, including addressing the social, environmental, economic, and commercial determinants influencing NCD outcomes, and ensure equitable access to essential medicines and technologies through universal health coverage (UHC).
- Break down silos, including integrating NCD prevention and care into primary healthcare and implement fiscal and regulatory measures to reduce commercial drivers of ill health, such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy diets.
- Mobilise investment, including increasing domestic budget allocations for NCD prevention and control, and introducing fiscal measures like taxes on health-harming products to generate sustainable health financing.
- Deliver accountability, including strengthening surveillance and monitoring systems for NCDs; and ensuring greater transparency in NCD financing.
- Engage communities, including institutionalising meaningful participation of people living with NCDs and civil society organisations in policy design, implementation, and monitoring.
The Declaration notes that despite progress in some countries, the ASEAN and SEAR still faces weak service delivery, inadequate financing, and rising commercial drivers of ill-health.
The meeting also highlighted the shared challenges of fragmented regional coordination between SEAR and ASEAN, calling for more cross-border collaboration and whole-of-society engagement to achieve health equity and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Kuala Lumpur Declaration aligns with the global Call to Lead on NCDs, a civil society-driven advocacy campaign urging governments to prioritise NCD prevention and control in national and global health agendas. Recommendations from the Kuala Lumpur meeting aim to inform interventions at the Multistakeholder Hearing, where CSOs will present their demands directly to UN Member States.
The full Declaration can be found here.
Organisations endorsing the Kuala Lumpur Declaration included:
- Alzheimer’s Disease International
- Art for Cancer by Ireal
- Bangladesh Non-Communicable Diseases Forum (BNCDF)
- Health Action Coordinating Committee/Cambodia NCD Alliance
- Healthy Philippines Alliance
- HRIDAY – Healthy India Alliance
- Maldives NCD Alliance
- Myanmar NCD Alliance
- NCD Malaysia
- NCD Indonesia – National Commission on Tobacco Control
- Nepal NCD Alliance
- SEAR NCD Alliance
- Thailand Breast Cancer Community (TBCC)
- The NCD Alliance Association of Thailand
