The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) have launched a global initiative, called ‘4 Healthy Habits’. The partnership with IFRC will provide Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers information and tools to change behaviours, promote healthy lifestyles in communities around the world and ultimately to reduce the rise of non communicable diseases (NCDs). The programme was launched  at the sidelines of the 67th World Health Assembly held at Geneva.

The ‘4 Healthy Habits’ initiative is kicking off this month in Asia- Pacific and Europe, where 50 facilitators and volunteers from 33 countries have been trained to raise awareness about the dangers of NCDs, promote healthy habits and conduct basic screening among their communities, a task previously only performed by healthcare professionals.

“NCD prevention efforts need to be based not only on effective access to primary healthcare services but first and foremost on addressing the main risk factors,” stated Bekele Geleta, Secretary General, IFRC.

“Behavioural change is a process. While the role of healthcare providers is essential to encourage healthy habits, we need to reach people more effectively by bringing the message to their homes, repetitively and on a greater scale to promote and sustain healthy behaviour,” he added.

The four main NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes which affect three in five people worldwide, with 80 per cent of NCD-related deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. While 50 per cent of NCDs are avoidable, they share four main behavioural risk factors: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, insufficient physical activity, and unhealthy diet or obesity. Successful prevention of these deadly diseases largely depends on encouraging people to lead healthy lifestyle. Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers, equipped with the necessary tools, have a huge potential to help reduce preventable NCDs worldwide.

The programme is seen as an empowerment of communities. Using simple tools adapted to local contexts, beneficiaries will be able to take charge of their own health,” stated Eduardo Pisani, IFPMA Director General.

NCDs are a huge challenge, which requires a multi-stakeholder approach. The Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers’ unique insights into how to engage with local communities on NCD prevention combined with the pharmaceutical industry's experience aims to reach out to approximately 3 million people.