ABSTRACT
The importance of the private sector as part of a whole-of-society approach to tackling NCDs has been highlighted in the 2011 and 2018 UN political declarations on the prevention and control of NCDs and the WHO Global NCD Action Plan. This chapter explains the role of commercial determinants of health and NCDs and how private sector activities can affect people’s health positively or negatively. While some industries have values and core business models that are well aligned with global and national efforts to reduce the burden of NCDs, this is not always the case, and some industries are misaligned entirely. The chapter provides examples of industries that are well-aligned (e.g. the sports and fitness industries) or moderately aligned (e.g. the pharmaceutical and medical industries) with the public health efforts to prevent and control NCDs, as well as those industries where alignment is either more problematic (e.g. the food and non-alcoholic beverage industries) or completely misaligned (e.g. the tobacco industry). A variety of incentives and levers can be used to increase alignment with public health among private sector entities beyond those that are completely misaligned, including accountability and transparency. The chapter also highlights the importance of transparency among government officials and their advisers in engaging with the private sector with the aim of addressing NCDs.
