Developing a Policy Options Framework for Prevention and Control of NCDs

Key messages

* The policy options framework helps countries to develop or improve their programs for

prevention and treatment of NCDs. It has four stages: Assess, Plan, Develop and Implement, and Evaluate.

* In repurposing the framework to their own context, health policy makers will need to consider

their disease burden, health capacity, and other country-specific factors in order to determine

how much to focus on preventing disease versus treatment of those already affected.

* Population-level prevention policies are implemented by both the health sector and key nonhealth sector stakeholders, and are generally financed publically. By contrast, most policies

related to treatment are implemented within the health sector for both public and private

providers, and are financed with both public and private resources.

* Common challenges to tackling NCDs in South Asian countries include a low level of awareness

and competing priorities among policy makers, the strain on budgets, and lack of institutional

units and expertise to lead efforts.

* South Asian countries might explore how, in developed countries, the private sector has been

enlisted to play a major role in prevention with the goal of keeping the workforce healthy.