Ulrika Årehed Kågström: Grateful to take part in this year’s Global NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali
Ulrika Årehed Kågström, President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Secretary-General of the Swedish Cancer Society, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to take part in this year’s Global NCD Alliance Forum in Kigali, which comes at a critical time—just months before the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on NCDs. This Forum serves as a key platform for the NCD community to strategise, coordinate, and push for strong commitments ahead of the UNHLM, ensuring meaningful change for those at risk of and living with NCDs.
During the panel discussion Bridging the Financing Gap: Sustainable Investments and Financing Solutions, important perspectives were shared on how we can unlock new funding sources and develop sustainable financing models for NCD prevention and care.
Ensuring that everyone receives adequate treatment is, of course, essential. But this cannot be achieved if we disregard the preventive perspective, as the challenge will only become greater over time. While prevention is cost-effective, it requires upfront investment and collaboration between governments, NGOs, researchers, and the private sector. Financing NCD prevention and care is not just a health issue—it’s an economic issue. Investing in prevention and treatment reduces long-term healthcare costs, improves productivity, and strengthens health systems.
An important lesson from the Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM Coalition) Coalition is that medicines alone won’t solve the problem. Led by Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and more than 40 partners, ATOM works to improve the availability, affordability, and appropriate use of essential cancer medicines in low- and lower-middle-income countries. But for medicines to have full impact, they must be integrated into strong health systems—with diagnostic capacity, trained healthcare workers, and reliable supply chains. Without these, treatments won’t reach the people who need them most.
We know that pooled procurement works, reducing cancer medicine costs by over 30% in some cases. Expanding these mechanisms across more LMICs can generate significant savings and free up resources for broader health system improvements.
Looking ahead, we must move away from short-term, ad hoc funding and focus on sustainable partnerships and smart financing tools. With collective efforts, we have an opportunity not only to close the financing gap but also to build more resilient health systems that ensure sustained and equitable access to care for all. The 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs will be a key moment to push for structured, long-term financing models.”
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