NCDs and COVID-19

With the global health crisis of COVID-19 unfolding around us, the Health Finance Institute is actively monitoring and working with its partners on responses to this pandemic. 

The World Health Organization has released an information note on COVID-19 and NCDs, including recommendations on lifestyle and patient management. Individuals with co-morbidities and underlying chronic conditions are at higher risk for infection, severity of, and death by COVID-19, as recent data from the CDC reveal. We at HFI are especially concerned about these most vulnerable individuals around the world.

We support the urgent call to increase aggressive diagnostic testing, ensure contact tracing and isolation, and to continue physical or “social” distancing measures. We must also work to ensure our healthcare systems and healthcare workers have the capacity and proper equipment necessary to do their jobs on the front lines, especially in low-resource settings. 

As the COVID-19 infection rate climbs globally, HFI is uniquely positioned to call attention to a deeper understanding of the population that are most at risk for severe infection and mortality due to COVID-19. HFI stays committed to strengthening health systems and responding to this urgent global health pandemic while upholding our mission of increasing NCD investments and health for all. We are working with our partners and colleagues to hone and adapt our priorities to the emerging needs in the months ahead. One example has been the in-house development of a COVID-19 forecasting tool that analyzes associates between COVID-19 and NCD diagnoses and/or risk factors. 

Now more than ever, we must come together as a global health community and break down disease silos to curb this global health pandemic. We look forward to continuing the conversation with you via email and via our Twitter page for frequent updates. 

As the safety and health of our partners, colleagues, team, and advisors are of the utmost concern for us, we sincerely wish the best for you and your families during this time.

HFI's Co-Founder Surabhi Bhatt
at the Global Health & Innovation Conference 

Events

• Global Health and Innovation Conference, 4-5 April 2020, New Haven, Connecticut at Yale University, organized by Unite for Sight (Virtual)

• World Bank Spring Meetings, 13-19 April 2020, Washington, DC, organized by the World Bank Group (Virtual)

• SwitchPoint 2020, 17-18 September 2020, Saxapahaw, NC, organized by IntraHealth International

• The International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit, 19-23 October 2020, Marrakech, Morocco

• Micronutrient Forum 5th Global Conference, 8-13 November 2020, Bangkok, Thailand, organized by Micronutrient Forum

• Geneva Health Forum, 16-18 November 2020, Geneva, Switzerland, organized by Geneva Health Forum

Resources

• World Health Organization (WHO), “Information note on COVID-19 and noncommunicable diseases”

• British Heart Foundation, “Coronavirus: what it means for you if you have heart or circulatory disease”

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Are you at higher risk”

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People with asthma and COVID-19”

• National Cancer Institute (NCI), “Coronavirus: What people with cancer should know”

• Resolve to Save Lives, “Novel Coronavirus, a priority for the NCD community too”

• American Diabetes Association, "How coronavirus impacts people with diabetes"