Better Health, Better Lives: Combating Non-Communicable Diseases in the Context of Norwegian Development Policy (2020-2024).

The present Strategy seeks to position Norway in a leading role to expand the work on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in international health and development policy as well as to ensure practical action in low-income countries. The Strategy's overarching goal is to help reduce the number of premature deaths from NCDs in low-income countries by one-third by 2030 and promote mental health and wellbeing (SDG Target 3.4), and to generally improve people’s health throughout the life-course. It seeks to reach the poorest and most vulnerable groups in order to help achieving the main objective of the 2030 Agenda – that no one is left behind. The Strategy focuses on three main areas: i) Preventing and reducing risk through concrete measures across sectors to prevent disease and premature death, where regulation, taxation and multi-sectoral measures will be important; ii) Strengthening primary health care by improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases, and ensuring everyone has access to health care subsidized by the public authorities; and iii) Strengthening global public goods, including normative work, access to health data and health information, digitalization and research.
The Strategy is based on the 5 x 5 NCD Agenda adopted by the UN, where five priority diseases are addressed (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental disorders) together with five major risk factors (tobacco, air pollution, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity). Through development cooperation, Norway will help to facilitate healthy lifestyle habits; with healthy food that is produced sustainably; a healthy environment with clean air and clean energy; opportunities for physical activity; access to quality education and stronger tobacco and alcohol regulations
As regards in particular unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity as an NCD risk factor, the government will: Strengthen efforts to ensure healthy nutrition in line with WHO’s advice on healthy diets, including reducing salt, sugar, saturated fats and trans fats; Promote breast-feeding and measures to improve mothers’ nutrition before and during pregnancy, to ensure healthy growth and lifelong health benefits; Work to improve children and young people’s knowledge of health, diet and physical activity; and Ensure good access to healthy food and activity at school, in cooperation with relevant multilateral actors. These efforts mus be seen in conjunction with the Action Plan on Sustainable Food Systems in Norwegian Foreign and Development Policy, where the main goal is to increase food security.
As regards air pollution as an NCD risk factor, the government will, among other things, intensify efforts to reduce air pollution, promote pollution-free cooking through the initiative 'Renewable energy in Norwegian development policy', and support the work on taxation and regulation on emissions of air pollutants in low- and middle-income countries.