On March 24, 2025, a webinar on publishing in the journal «The Lancet Regional Health – Europe» was held

On March 24, 2025, a webinar on publishing the article «Quick buys for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases» in the journal «The Lancet Regional Health – Europe» URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101281 was held.

Just 5 years before the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, a new WHO/Europe document identifies 25 interventions that can help countries accelerate progress in meeting their health commitments. Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, and NCD prevention experts took part in discussing the study results. «Quick buys for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases» are proven and cost-effective interventions that can have an impact on public health within 5 years. Developed by WHO/Europe NCD experts, the document adds a time dimension to the Organization’s established «best solutions» for NCDs.

The authors reviewed 49 interventions previously established as cost-effective (<$I20,000 per disability-adjusted life-year averted) to identify the earliest possible detectable effect on high-level population health targets. Using a strict evidence hierarchy, including Cochrane and systematic reviews, we estimated the effects of each intervention against global targets agreed upon by countries. Quick buys were defined as those interventions that could exhibit measurable effects within 5 years, aligning with average electoral cycles across the WHO European Region. Of the 49 interventions, 25 qualified as quick buys, including those relating to tobacco (n = 5), alcohol (n = 4), unhealthy diet (n = 3), physical inactivity (n = 1), cardiovascular disease (n = 3), diabetes (n = 4), chronic respiratory disease (n = 1), and cancer (n = 4). These findings not only offer guidance to policymakers deciding on interventions that align with short-term political cycles but also have the potential to accelerate progress toward global health targets, particularly the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of reducing premature NCD mortality by one-third.

The authors emphasize the importance of adopting comprehensive approaches to address the significant health and economic burden of chronic diseases, which can accelerate progress towards achieving global health goals, in particular the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one-third and contribute to the discussions at the Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of NCDs in September 2025.

The State Institution «Marzieiev Institute for Public Health of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine» was represented by Alla Koblianska, Head of the Department of the Support of State Programs and International Relations, Candidate of Medical Sciences.

(date of publication on the website 24.03.2025)