PHSSR Policy Roadmaps for Acting Early on NCDs Synthesis Report 2025

40 Acting early on NCDs The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and ResiliencePOLICY LEVERS: PRIMARY PREVENTION While all countries recognise prevention’s cost-effectiveness and have developed policy frameworks to promote prevention, implementation remains fragmented and underfunded. Successful initiatives like Japan’s comprehensive Health Japan 21 framework and France’s sugar taxation demonstrate what is possible, yet some countries rely on voluntary measures and struggle with enforcement. The gap between policy design and effective implementation suggests that structural barriers, political economy factors, and misaligned incentives prevent health systems from prioritising upstream interventions that could reduce future disease burden. Based on the evidence examined, countries should consider the following approaches: ■ Implement comprehensive fiscal measures to discourage unhealthy behaviours Deploy evidence-based taxation on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages at levels that meaningfully influence purchasing behaviour, with regular adjustment for inflation and affordability. Ring-fence revenues generated from fiscal measures for prevention programmes and ensure coordination across jurisdictions to prevent cross-border purchasing that undermines policy effectiveness. ■ Create regulatory environments supporting healthy choices Establish comprehensive marketing restrictions on unhealthy products, particularly targeting children across all media including digital platforms. Mandate reformulation targets for processed foods with clear timelines and penalties. Implement smoke-free environments with sustained enforcement, learning from countries where initial success deteriorated without consistent monitoring. ■ Develop life-course health promotion with systematic education Integrate health education throughout educational curricula from early childhood, covering nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and substance use prevention. Ensure programmes adapt to different life stages, from school-based interventions through workplace health promotion to active ageing strategies, with particular focus on transition periods when health behaviours often deteriorate. ■ Strengthen vaccination programmes for NCD prevention Achieve high coverage for HPV vaccination through school-based programmes with opt-out enrolment, catch-up campaigns for missed cohorts, and active promotion addressing vaccine hesitancy. Ensure hepatitis B vaccination and screening programmes are implemented for infants and at-risk populations such as certain healthcare workers. Monitor coverage by socioeconomic status and geography to ensure equity, addressing disparities in coverage.