ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to review the regional situation of non-communicable diseases (NCD) integration in primary health care (PHC), describe the World Health Organization (WHO) regional initiative and discuss the key challenges and policy options for progress in this field. Integration at the governance level would include strategies such as a financed and operational national NCD plan that includes a monitoring and evaluation framework. Effective NCD integration in PHC is contingent on wider actions aiming at strengthening health systems to achieve better health, universal health coverage (UHC), and equitable health financing policies. The need for more progress on NCD integration has been clearly highlighted, several countries in the region have been making substantial progress to integrate the management of NCDs into their PHC services. Substantial progress could be made in the Eastern Mediterranean Region if the initiative on NCD integration in PHC continues to be developed by WHO, and if momentum can be built among Member States.
