World leaders adopt a historic global declaration on noncommunicable diseases and mental health

Leaders from across the world at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have adopted the political declaration to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges through a fully integrated approach. This is the outcome of the intergovernmental negotiations in advance of and considered by the fourth high-level meeting of the UNGA on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being, held on 25 September 2025.

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Leaders from across the world at the Eightieth United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) have adopted the political declaration to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges through a fully integrated approach. This is the outcome of the intergovernmental negotiations in advance of and considered by the fourth high-level meeting of the UNGA on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and well-being, held on 25 September 2025.

Titled "Equity and integration: transforming lives and livelihoods through leadership and action on noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being", the political declaration is the first such declaration addressing NCDs and mental health together, and marks a unique opportunity to accelerate global progress with a set of specific global targets for 2030. This step is expected to usher in a new era in addressing some of the world’s most pressing health challenges – affecting people of all ages and income levels across the globe.

Today’s leading causes of death – NCDs – claim 18 million lives prematurely each year, while mental health conditions affect over a billion people globally. NCDs are often driven by preventable risk factors such as unhealthy diets, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and air pollution – many of which also negatively impact mental health. Both NCDs and mental health conditions are increasing in every country, affecting every community. That makes them urgent issues not only for public health, but also for productivity and sustainable economic growth.

Marking a significant evolution from previous commitments, the new political declaration establishes three first-ever global "fast-track" outcome targets to be achieved by 2030:

To ensure countries can reach these goals, the declaration also sets ambitious, measurable process targets for national systems by 2030, including: