This kind of economic approach to the NCD problem is already gaining traction in the international community. On December 10th, two years after its inception, the WHO's Independent High Level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases released its Final Report. The Report's Recommendation Six explicitly calls for the "establishment of a platform, as an integral part of WHO, with the aim of securing more meaningful and effective contributions from the private sector."7, 8
WHO's authorization of a platform represents a major step forward, indicating just how much the conversation surrounding NCDs has evolved in the two years since the Commission began its work. In early 2018, the Commission was focused primarily on the health impacts of NCDs. The NCD Platform signals an increased focus on the economic impacts of NCDs, and outlines an institutional construct to address them: the Platform-a flexible structure which will allow participants to construct solutions within a productive, supportive environment, and will address-per Recommendation Six -"the impact of economic, market, and commercial factors."
Private-sector engagement will be crucial in preventing and controlling NCDs, and governments can work to incentivize the private sector towards progress. Enter the public-private partnership.
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7 "It's Time to Walk the Talk: WHO High-Level Commission on NCDs final report," World Health Organization, 2019.
8 Disclosure: Professor Trager served as a technical expert with the WHO Commission, presenting in Geneva a paper, "Potential Business Models that Involve Private Sector Support for National Responses in Preventing and Controlling NCDs," commissioned by WHO. Since then, Professor Trager has worked steadily with significant members of the Commission to advance the cause of PPPs in healthcare, while also working closely with the World Economic Forum and the government of the United States.