Access Accelerated

Overview

More than 40 million people worldwide die from NCDs such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Accounting for more than 70% of deaths globally, NCDs are the world’s leading cause of death and disability. They are one of the least funded health issues and burden developing countries disproportionately.

Access Accelerated is a first of its kind collective of biopharmaceutical companies committed to supporting locally led efforts to advance access to NCD prevention, treatment, and care in some of the world’s most resource-constrained countries.

Access Accelerated is an example of how private sector engagement in action can bring together a common pool of skills and expertise, coordination, information, funding, and technologies to tackle NCDs.

$47tr

the expected global economic impact of the leading 5 NCDs between 2011-2030

85%

of premature deaths from NCDs occur in LMICs

100m

people are forced into extreme poverty every year because of NCDs

Making access to NCD care a reality 

All sectors must collaborate to strengthen health systems to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the target of reducing premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030.

Access Accelerated is helping create and scale sustainable solutions to achieve quality, timely, and dignified NCD prevention, treatment, and care for people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

We do this by coordinating with government-led efforts, working closely with local stakeholders, and partnering with organizations’ expert in health systems strengthening and NCDs.

Strengthening partnerships

By facilitating a coordinated approach to the challenge of NCDs, Access Accelerated is enabling multisectoral collaboration built on shared systems, information, language, goals, and trust. This unlocks the potential for greater collective impact.

Our approach

The work of Access Accelerated and our partners is guided by locally defined priorities and input from people living with these diseases. Our approach is driven by:

A people-first and human-centered approach
Strong local ownership and engagement
Substantive partnerships
Sustainable and equitable solutions
Innovation and continuous learning
Rigorous measurement and transparency

"The Access Accelerated partnership is an excellent example of a strategic partnership with the private sector which encouraged innovations, built capacity, and empowered clients to roll out new ways of doing business to tackle the surge in NCDs with a focus on the primary healthcare and community levels.”

World Bank Trust Fund Completion Report: “Tackling Non-Communicable Diseases Challenges In Low and Middle Income Countries”

The impact of Access Accelerated

Between 2017 and 2023, Access Accelerated contributed over US$25 million to a Trust Fund, providing the World Bank flexible, catalytic funding to respond and tailor NCD solutions to country needs. This fund supported 44 World Bank activities at the global, regional, and national levels, spanning multiple LMICs.

The Access Accelerated-supported Trust Fund contributed to the World Bank’s broader commitment to NCDs, with the Bank investing over US$7 billion in NCD-related projects from 1980 to 2020. Notably, half of this funding—amounting to over US$3.5 billion—was directed toward initiatives launched between 2016 and 2020, highlighting a significant ramp-up by the World Bank in investment during the years of the partnership.

Transforming how the world addresses NCDs

Actively informing global and local priority health policies that impact lives

Alongside governments and national stakeholders, we work with our partners to build evidence that shapes outcome-oriented NCD policies and embeds scalable, sustainable, and locally owned solutions that will impact this and future generations.

Stepping up NCD investment in LMICs

We support flexible and adaptable funding that responds to emerging NCD needs, identified through evidence and data.

Setting an industry-led example for impactful, positive social change 

We focus on sharing knowledge and building trust to facilitate cross-sector partnerships to create resilient health systems for NCDs and make progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including on Universal Health Coverage.

Progress

Access Accelerated funding enabled the World Bank to support countries in addressing key knowledge gaps and technical assistance priorities through initiatives such as:

Flagship reports: Publication of global and regional reports to advance the NCD agenda, covering topics such as patient-facing digital tools for NCD management at the primary care level, country case studies on integrating NCD care into primary healthcare systems, and the development of an NCD Systems Assessment Tool to help countries prioritize investments.
Technical assistance and policy advice: Development of strategies, investment cases, and assessments to strengthen national capacity in addressing NCDs, resulting in a broad range of analytical products.
Pilot programs: Implementation of integrated NCD programs in Kenya, El Salvador, and Vietnam.

These efforts led to several key outcomes:

Stronger institutional capacity in select LMICs to advocate for increased funding, assess and address gaps in the care cascade, and explore public-private partnerships
Enhanced knowledge at country, regional, and global levels, and sharing of good practices
Improved coverage and quality of NCD services resulting from the design and rollout of integrated models of care.

Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN)

Sustainable financing is essential to an effective response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). To bridge persistent funding gaps, Access Accelerated launched the Financing Accelerator Network for NCDs (FAN) in November 2024, as part of a new technical partnership with the World Bank and in close collaboration with Results for Development (R4D).

FAN fosters local and regional collaboration, providing country stakeholders with technical support, cross-country learning opportunities, and catalytic seed funding to strengthen NCD financing. The initiative began in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) hosting FAN’s first regional NCD Financing Accelerator. Expansion to Latin America in 2025 and the Asia-Pacific in 2026 will broaden FAN’s reach and impact, driving sustainable financing solutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

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Learn more about Access Accelerated

Access Accelerated is doing vital work to accelerate global progress on NCDs for those who need it most. Sign up for Access Today, the Access Accelerated monthly resource of new initiatives, partnership events, noteworthy events, and more.

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