NCD Alliance Northern Ireland
NCD Alliance Northern Ireland is a coalition of health organisations campaigning to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through action on alcohol, tobacco, and products high in fat, salt and sugar.
Members of NCD Alliance Northern Ireland
The NCD Alliance Northern Ireland is made up of the following members:
- British Heart Foundation Northern Ireland (Chair)
- Cancer Research Northern Ireland
- Cancer Focus Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke
- Stroke Association
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Asthma Lung UK Northern Ireland
- Diabetes UK Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund
- Northern Ireland Alcohol and Drug Alliance
- Royal College of Midwives
- Arthritis UK Northern Ireland
What are non-communicable diseases?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are chronic health conditions that are not passed from person to person. NCDs are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors.
The most common types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attack and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. NCDs are the leading cause of death and ill-health both globally and in Northern Ireland.
For more information, you can read the World Health Organization (WHO) factsheet on NCDs.
NCD prevalence in Northern Ireland
According to the 2023 Global Burden of Disease study, over 15,000 people die from NCDs in Northern Ireland each year, which is around 89% of all deaths. The study also found that NCDs account for over 4 in every 5 years of healthy life lost. This is measured using disability‑adjusted life years (DALYs), a standard way of estimating the overall burden of disease.
NCDs are a cause and driver of health inequalities. They disproportionately affect the most deprived communities, where prevalence of NCD risk factors such as smoking and obesity are highest.
Many of these deaths and lost years of healthy life from NCDs could be prevented through public health action to tackle the most common risk factors, including:
- tobacco and related products
- alcohol consumption
- diets high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS).
These risk factors are all influenced by the commercial determinants of health.
What are the commercial determinants of health?
The WHO defines the commercial determinants of health as “the conditions, actions and omissions by commercial actors that impact our health. Commercial activities shape the physical and social environments in which people are born, grow, work, live and age. These factors, or ‘determinants’ can have a beneficial or a detrimental effect on our health”.
The NCD Alliance Northern Ireland focusses on commercial determinants related to tobacco, alcohol and HFSS products.
Examples of commercial practices which drive the consumption of health-harming products include:
- Price setting of health-harming products such as multibuy and buy-one-get-one free offers of HFSS food and drink.
- The marketing and advertisement of health-harming products such as cigarettes, alcohol and less healthy food and drink.
The WHO has a factsheet on the commercial determinants of health if you would like to learn more.
Working towards our mission
In 2022, the NCD Alliance Northern Ireland launched a Manifesto for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention. This outlined the burden of NCDs on society, the economy and the health and social care system. It also called on the NI Assembly and Executive to take action to tackle health-harming products and support people to live healthier lives.
Four years on from the launch of the 2022 manifesto, and two years since the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly in 2024, we have produced a review of progress of the policy recommendations. This clearly shows that progress has been limited and that prevention of ill-health has not been adequately prioritised.
The NCD Alliance Northern Ireland will produce a renewed manifesto for the 2027 election calling for a whole-systems approach to tackle health-harming products and reduce the burden of NCDs in Northern Ireland.
Resources
- 2026 Progress report of the NCD prevention manifesto 2022 (PDF, 1.4MB, 32 pages)
- Manifesto for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention 2022 (PDF, 2MB, 16 pages)
- Visual summary of the cost to society of smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity in Northern Ireland (PDF, 1.1MB, 1 page)