Fund Dates

Start Date: 01 May 2021

End Date:  30 April 2026

Events:

UNGA Side Event – 22 Sept 2021, 10am

Key Documents

• Terms of Reference 
• Memorandum of Understanding 

Overview:

NCDs now cause almost 3 out of 4 deaths globally with low- and middle-income countries disproportionately affected. More than one in three lives lost to NCDs is premature and largely preventable, yet these conditions remain overwhelmingly neglected by development financing. Poor, vulnerable and marginalized populations are the worst affected by  these conditions, trapping them in poverty and reinforcing inequalities. Hundreds of millions of people suffer from mental health conditions, yet their needs remain largely unaddressed, impacting the functioning and well-being of their communities. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the shortcomings of our model for health and development -  inadequate attention to prevention and determinants of health as well as siloed approaches within and beyond the health sector. A whole-of-government, whole-of-society, and a One-UN approach is required to address the five key risk factors (tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and air pollution) as well as the main social determinants of health associated with the ever increasing burden of mental health conditions and NCDs.

The Multi-Partner Trust Fund to Catalyze Country Action for NCDs and Mental Health (MPTF) was established in May 2021 by UNDP, UNICEF and WHO under the broader UN NCD Task Force (Task Force) to demonstrate the ways in which existing proven, cost-effective solutions can drive efficiencies, increase domestic funding and improve policies, legislation and regulation to curb these conditions. It takes a novel approach to development financing, anchored in global solidarity and underpinned by five key, unwavering principles : country-led, catalytic, cross-sectoral, equity-driven and impact-oriented.

The Fund was a recommendation of the independent High-Level Commission on NCDs and is in keeping with numerous ECOSOC resolutions by UN Member States. It will further the aims of the WHO NCD Global Action Plan as it seeks to support low- and middle-income countries to prevent and optimally manage NCDs and mental health conditions. Our vision is to enable countries to forge healthy, happy, prosperous and secure futures.