Events
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Activities
Events
Hackccess Hackathon
Partners: NCD Policy Lab, gdhub, UNIGE, HUG, MSF, NCD Alliance, ICRC, Impact Hub, SDC
Bridging the Gap: Scaling innovative approaches to NCD medicine access in LMICs
Organisers: NCD Policy Lab, NCD Alliance, Access to Medicines Foundation, Medicines Patent Pool
Digital Health for NCDs & Mental Health - Geneva Digital Health Day (GDHD) 2026
Geneva Digital Health Day 2026 brought together global leaders, innovators, researchers, policymakers and implementers for a dynamic programme exploring major trends and challenges in digital health. Through expert discussions on artificial intelligence, implementation science, space technology and real-world success stories, the event created opportunities to exchange knowledge, examine practical solutions and build meaningful collaborations. Interactive sessions and fast-paced networking formats also enabled participants to connect with peers and explore new partnerships.
The NCD Policy Lab partner with the Geneva Digital Health Hub on the track “Digital Health for NCDs and Mental Health.” The session explored how digital tools can support the prevention, early detection and long-term management of NCDs and mental health conditions, with particular attention to implementation, policy alignment, sustainable financing and scalability.
The programme included a presentation of the aggregation system developed for the NCD Policy Lab platform in partnership with HEPIA. This work illustrated how digital infrastructure can help bring together information generated across different settings and support the use of evidence for research, policy dialogue and decision-making. The session also featured the experience of CRONICAS, presented by Lourdes Cruzado Castro, offering a country-level perspective on the opportunities and challenges involved in applying digital approaches to NCD prevention and management.
A panel discussion moderated by Marina Giachino brought together Jackie Ogutu, Lourdes Cruzado Castro and Ken Carswell to examine how digital health initiatives can be more closely connected to health-system needs and policy priorities. The discussion highlighted the value of involving researchers, policymakers, implementers, healthcare professionals and communities throughout the development and implementation process. This collaboration is essential to ensure that digital solutions are not only technically effective, but also usable, equitable and relevant to the settings in which they are introduced.
The track reflected a central area of the NCD Policy Lab’s work: strengthening the connection between evidence, country experience and policy action. By facilitating exchange between actors working at different levels of the health system, the session contributed to a broader discussion on how digital health can support sustainable improvements in access, continuity and quality of care for people living with NCDs and mental health conditions.
WATCH THE REPLAY OF TRACK 1 : DIGITAL HEALTH FOR NCDs AND MENTAL HEALTH
Partners: Geneva Digital Health Hub, University of Geneva, HEPIA
Bridging Evidence and Policy in Global Health Lessons from Southeast Asia, Mozambique, Nepal and Peru on strengthening health systems for NCDs and NTDs
On 11 June 2026, the NCD Policy Lab and the COHESION-I Project convened researchers, practitioners and global health experts at Campus Biotech in Geneva to examine how research can more effectively inform health policy and practice. Drawing on experiences from Peru, Nepal, Mozambique and Southeast Asia, the event focused on strengthening health-system responses to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
The discussions highlighted a central challenge in global health: producing evidence does not automatically lead to changes in policies, services or health outcomes. Translating research into action requires sustained collaboration between researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals, implementers and communities, as well as a strong understanding of local health-system realities.
Speakers shared practical lessons from multi-country and country-level initiatives. Dr MarĂa Lazo Porras reflected on the development and implementation of the COHESION-I Project across several settings. Dr Sanjib Kumar Sharma presented approaches to addressing NCDs and NTDs through health-system innovation in Nepal, while Dr Praveen Devarsetty discussed the transition from pilot intervention to large-scale implementation through a community-based cardiovascular disease prevention programme in Indonesia. Dr Albertino Damasceno examined the evolution of the chronic disease agenda in Mozambique and the long-term engagement required to influence national priorities and policy.
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion and exchange with participants. The conversation explored common challenges across contexts, including adapting interventions to local needs, integrating them into primary healthcare, involving communities and decision-makers, and sustaining programmes beyond initial research and funding cycles. The event demonstrated the value of implementation research and cross-country learning in understanding not only whether an intervention works, but also how and under what conditions it can be successfully adopted and maintained. It also reinforced the importance of creating spaces where country experience, scientific evidence and policy priorities can be discussed together.
Following the session at Campus Biotech, discussions continued at the World Health Organization, connecting country-level implementation experiences with broader global policy perspectives on primary healthcare and health-system strengthening.
Through this event, the NCD Policy Lab contributed to strengthening dialogue between evidence producers and decision-makers and to advancing practical, equitable and context-adapted approaches to improving care for people affected by NCDs and NTDs.
Partners: CRONICAS, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, B.P. Koirala Health, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane