Join us in making meaningful involvement of people living with noncommunicable diseases a reality! This page describes the fundamental principles and core strategies of the Global Charter, and provides guidance to endorse and operationalise. Thank you for your organisation’s interest in endorsing!
Here’s what you can expect from the Global Charter endorsement journey.
Step 1 Endorsing the Global Charter
Committing to its principles and core strategies
The Global Charter on Meaningful Involvement of People Living with NCDs provides a shared understanding of meaningful involvement, it’s fundamental principles, and core strategies to operationalise it within organisational practices.
It’s aimed at civil society, governments, international partners such as multilateral and bilateral agencies, international NGOs, foundations, and philanthropies, appropriate private sector organisations, the research community and academia.
It rallies these stakeholders to accelerate efforts to meaningfully involve people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in decision-making in the policies, programmes and services that affect them. By endorsing the Global Charter, your organisation or institution commits to meaningfully involve people living with NCDs, realising the fundamental principles and applying the core and broadly applicable strategies.
Following the endorsement, your organisation’s name and logo will be published on the Wall of Endorsers.
Sample video
Fundamental principles for meaningful involvement
By endorsing the Global Charter, organisations commit to realising the following principles as a basis for meaningful involvement:
Rights-Based
People living with NCDs are fully aware of, and claim, their rights (including rights to health and participation) to realise their full potential as engaged members of society, free of stigma and discrimination, and duty bearers are aware of their obligations to respect, protect, uphold and fulfil these rights.
Respect and Dignity
People living with NCDs are treated with respect and dignity, their privacy is respected, and they are treated as equals and supported to be autonomous and meaningfully involved in all decision-making processes concerning them.
People-Centredness
People living with NCDs and their wellbeing, rather than their conditions, are placed at the centre of policies, programmes, and services, with their needs and priorities shaping the NCD response, rooting it in the community.
Equity
Ensuring that marginalised and underrepresented groups are considered central in processes to attain equitable and fair health and development outcomes, recognising that these groups are often at greatest risk of NCDs
Social Participation
Having formal mechanisms for people living with NCDs and communities to have a ‘seat at the table’ to inform and influence policy and decision-making on an equal footing and hold institutions to account.
"Meaningful involvement is about long-term partnerships and not about short-term assignments."
Global Charter consultation participant
Core strategies to operationalise meaningful involvement
The endorsers of the Global Charter commit to pursue and implement the following strategies to operationalise meaningful involvement and achieve a people-centred NCD response:
Demonstrate high-level leadership and commitment to meaningful involvement with an organisational culture that recognises the value of lived experiences and of community engagement. Formally embed meaningful involvement in organisational policies and processes, with the resources and internal capacities needed to sustain it.
Identify, create and formalise opportunities for meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs, including in governance and decision-making roles, of policies, programmes, services, and all aspects of the NCD response that affect them.
Ensure meaningful involvement is contextually appropriate and spans across design and planning stages as well as implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Create enabling environments for sustained participation, particularly from marginalised groups, by countering barriers and addressing power imbalances, inequalities and inequities. Share knowledge with people living with NCDs in culturally appropriate and accessible ways, such as using local languages and partnering with local services, and enable people living with NCDs to feel confident in participating, sharing their views free of judgement, stigma, or discrimination.
Clearly define and agree upfront the purpose for involvement, roles, responsibilities, and expectations to build trust, commitment, and mutual accountability. Provide feedback on results of involvement and involve people living with NCDs in regular evaluation of such efforts.
Develop transparent selection strategies that ensure the legitimacy of people living with NCDs as representatives and seek to engage a diverse range of constituencies/ themes/ experiences/expertise/backgrounds.
Strengthen the capacities of people living with NCDs through appropriate training, information, background, resources, technology etc to ensure their successful involvement.
Provide support (such as logistics and financial support as feasible) to people living with NCDs in an equitable way to ensure that involvement is recognised, valued and accessible to all, leaving no one behind.
Use person-centred and inclusive language which respects the dignity and preferences of those being referred to.
Ensure sustained community engagement by supporting civil society organisations, connect people living with NCDs with the communities they represent and multiply the impact of involvement.
The commitments made in this Global Charter, when fully realised, will help to achieve a collective vision of health for all, with no one left behind. Join us in helping make this happen.
Step 2 Take Action
How can my organisation operationalise meaningful involvement?
The Global Charter is accompanied by a non-exhaustive menu of enabling actions that different stakeholders can take forward to help achieve meaningful involvement. These enabling actions have been identified through the consultation process leading up to the Global Charter. They build upon the principles and core strategies highlighted in the Global Charter to operationalise meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs.
Upholding and defending the universal right to health and right to participation and enabling people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) NCDs to claim their rights by providing civic space and ensuring an enabling policy and legal environment.
Ensuring formal and sustained governance mechanisms, embedded in legal frameworks, that enable the involvement of civil society and include people living with NCDs and communities in participatory decision-making processes and bodies, including public consultations, deliberative processes, commissions, technical working groups and national NCD coordination mechanisms.
Involving civil society and including people living with NCDs and marginalised/ underrepresented communities in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of NCD and relevant health and development policies, plans (including the National NCD Plan), services, programmes, and public awareness campaigns, from their inception.
Providing effective health systems governance and accountability structures as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that engages communities and provides integrated health services that respond to the health needs and preferences of people living with NCDs throughout their life course.
Involving civil society and including people living with NCDs on national delegations to policy/decision-making meetings; e.g., World Health Assembly, UN General Assembly, WHO Regional Committee Meetings, etc.
Raising awareness of participatory decision-making processes and bodies, particularly at sub-national and community levels, to promote citizenship, public accountability, and encourage involvement of civil society and people living with NCDs in policy planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Promoting meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs as part of communities and civil society and at the core of a whole-of-society approach to NCDs, encouraging and supporting stakeholders in its implementation.
Providing the educational resources and support needed by people living with NCDs to improve their health literacy and make informed decisions about their own health, for both prevention and management of NCDs.
Supporting and providing sustainable financing for a strong civil society to underpin efforts meaningfully involving people living with NCDs, reaching marginalised and underrepresented communities.
Fostering institution-wide cultural shifts and building staff capacity on meaningful involvement of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as part of communities and civil society, ensuring leadership and commitment at the highest level, with clear policies to enable involvement globally, regionally, and nationally.
Supporting Member States in implementing meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs, as part of communities and civil society, to strengthen NCD prevention and treatment, Universal Health Coverage, and broader sustainable development.
Raising awareness of and documenting existing mechanisms, good practice of meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs and promoting information exchanges across countries.
Formally involving and supporting people living with NCDs in decision-making processes and bodies (e.g. formal consultation processes, technical working groups, governing bodies, advisory groups, expert commissions) relating to NCDs and other relevant global health and sustainable development issues.
Ensuring meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs in programme planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation to ensure interventions are responsive to needs of communities.
Supporting and providing sustainable financing for a strong civil society to underpin efforts to meaningfully involve people living with NCDs, reaching vulnerable and marginalised communities.
Consulting with civil society organisations and various lived experience communities to highlight diverse voices in governance and programme delivery mechanisms and inform policy processes at global, regional, and national levels.
Organising/coordinating with other civil society organisations across noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) , Universal Health Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals, and networks of people living with NCDs, and advocating for inclusion in decision-making processes and bodies.
Joining forces with social movements representing people often left behind, including youth and child rights groups, disability groups, older people’s rights groups, women’s health groups, Indigenous communities, HIV/AIDS groups, LGBTQ+ communities, humanitarian groups, mental health groups, environment and equity advocates, and others to advocate for systemic social reform.
Ensuring meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs and communities is occurring within the organisation and internal staff capacities are built to embed meaningful involvement in the organisation’s governance, strategy, advocacy, research, and programmatic work.
Placing NCDs on the public agenda, including by using traditional media and social media, amplifying voices of people living with NCDs and of marginalised and underrepresented communities, breaking down stigma and discrimination, and addressing myths and misconceptions.
Raising awareness of meaningful involvement opportunities, its importance, and its benefits among people living with NCDs, leveraging, and strengthening existing community engagement efforts, ensuring that results of involvement are shared with the broader community.
Strengthening the capacity of people living with NCDs based on identified needs (e.g. public speaking and communication skills, advocacy, programme planning, monitoring and evaluation, etc.) to ensure involvement at the global, regional, national and local levels.
Ensuring voices of marginalised and under-represented communities are amplified in NCDs discussions and individuals are supported to be involved.
Supporting capacity development of other civil society organisations in NCD prevention and control as well as implementing and advocating for meaningful involvement.
Advocating and supporting different stakeholders in driving a shift in culture towards meaningful involvement by articulating its value and advocating for roles for people living with NCDs in decision-making processes.
Advocating for social justice and the upholding of human rights, such as addressing barriers to care, stigma, and discrimination. Explore binding legal instruments and treaties and using legal measures to address human rights violations.
Involving people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) as active participants in the design, conduct and dissemination of research to enhance its quality and ensure that the needs of people living with NCDs are prioritised.
Strengthening community-based and community-led, participatory research to improve NCD services based on perspectives of those with lived experiences.
Enhancing research capacity in meaningful involvement and documenting best practices.
Ensuring involvement of people living with NCDs in research-related decision-making processes, including ethics, clinical, and safety audit boards/committees.
Working in partnership with civil society, multilaterals, and governments on whole of society actions, and promoting meaningful involvement of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and communities in associated governance, decision-making, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Becoming a driving force for the meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs and communities by including their involvement in Environmental, Social and Corporate governance, sharing organisational experiences and the results and benefits of the involvement.
Implementing health systems strengthening initiatives and access programmes that address the needs of people living with NCDs, with the adoption and tracking of adequate people-centred indicators.
Ensuring involvement of people living with NCDs in research, design, and delivery of social business models on health programming for NCDs and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more broadly.
Supporting civil society and enabling staff, including those living with NCDs, to volunteer and contribute to community-based health promoting programmes and activities (e.g., NCD prevention awareness raising, early detection campaigns) and ensuring local healthy environments (e.g., smoke-free spaces, sports facilities, parks, walkways, potable water etc).
Ensuring the ethical involvement of people living with NCDs in NCD strategy, research, programme, product, and service design, monitoring and evaluation (e.g., advisory groups) and in employee representative bodies.
Supporting efforts to tackle NCD-related stigma and discrimination to foster an inclusive and adaptive workplace that enables people to manage their NCD conditions.
Creating procedures for implementing meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs at all levels of the workplace including their recruitment as well as identifying existing workplace policies that improve or hinder their meaningful involvement.
Mainstreaming NCD prevention and control within the organisation by developing and implementing specific health promoting and preventive workplace policies (e.g., workplace wellness programmes including mental health support).
Step 3 Tracking progress
Sharing lessons learnt
Your organisation’s commitment to the Global Charter and meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs can have a long lasting impact on efforts to achieve health for all. To ensure we are collectively upholding our commitments to its principles and core strategies, all endorsing organisations will be involved in periodic reporting to share progress and lessons learnt on actions taken.
A biennial survey will be conducted with endorsing organisations to gather insights on progress and a report based on pooled results from the survey will be made available publicly. To grow the knowledge base on meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs, there will be ongoing promotion of good practice examples, key enablers, and experience sharing. NCD Alliance will be in regular contact with endorsing organisations.
