Financing and allocating resources for NCD prevention and control

Health financing by which we mean financing to promote health, including healthcare, is a core function of a health system. In addition to making decisions on investing to promote population health and improve healthcare, governments also have to consider spending in other areas, including social protection, education, defence, public order and safety, housing and environment, transportation, agriculture and employment. Health financing is therefore part of the resource allocation process in which advocates for NCDs must find a voice. While there will always be trade-offs in government spending priorities across sectors, this does not mean that public finance is a zero-sum game.