The excellent and successful and first Regional NCD Conference recently ended in Kigali and on what I observed, a positive note. Congratulations on a job well done. I had the privilege to participate in the conference virtually as we all know, technology knows no boundaries. For the past two days I have been getting up in the wee-hours of the morning in Houston to catch up with Kigali time so I don’t miss the conference—it was worth it. What made this conference even more interesting is that I had just read an email from Defeat-NCDs on the highlights from the high level panel discussions at the World Health Summit 2022, in Berlin. “From Words to Action for Better Non-Communicable Diseases Outcomes” This kind of motivated me to want to see how we were doing in Rwanda, compared to what this high level conference with WHO, Director General as keynote speaker. I was pleasantly surprised, RNCDA is on spot and in the right direction. It made me jump into the future seeing all the dignitaries at this Berlin Summit being at the second Regional NCDs Conference at Kigali Convention Center 2023. From my digital viewpoint, I was especially impressed by the excellent organisation of this year’s event and the importance given to time, just as time is important in all aspects of NCDS. It resonated well with the underlying theme of the urgency for action throughout the entire conference. The message was clear as panelists engaged in inspiring and practical discussions showcasing what is known and their commitment to bring about change—reduction of suffering, preventable mortality (85%) from NCDS and calling upon everyone to get involved. I had so much take-home lessons, but what stuck out most was words like action, data, funding, inclusivity, collaboration, partnerships, rehabilitation, multisectoral-approach, palliative care, people-centered, integration, costed-planning, research-based, and investment. My aha moment was when it was pointed out that funding for health will no longer be viewed as cost, but investment. Obvious implication is added value to health, for any investment requires monitoring, evaluation and the return on investment. It goes without saying that the return on investing in sustainable health is huge, which equals saving lives. From what I was able to listen to, there were many similarities between the high level summit in Berlin and NCDA Conference in Kigali – well done Rwanda! In fact both Berlin Defeat-NCDS Summit and Kigali RCDA Conference agreed to move “From Words to Action for Better Non-Communicable Diseases Outcomes” RNCA with more urgency. One priority area where they differed was in the research area. At the end of the summit in Berlin, grant support was available for research implementation at country level in eight low in-come countries (seven females and one male youth scholars) At RNCDA Conference the need for more research was mentioned by almost every panelist of course underscored by funding challenges. My hope is that next year, RNCDA will be able to announce grant awards to some researchers just like at Berlin Summit. Who knows, the Director General of WHO might be our keynote speaker. Philippa Kibugu Decuir is Founder, CEO BCIEA Inc, Member RNCDA, breast cancer survivor and passionate advocate.
