Meaningful progress or empty promises? An analysis of how gender features in NCD action plans

This analysis examines how gender is considered in integrated national non-communicable disease (NCD) plans, following repeated global commitments to adopt gender-based approaches since the first UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs in 2011.

Reviewing 65 integrated NCD plans covering 89 countries, the study assesses the inclusion of gender across four policy domains: objectives, strategies, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and budgeting.

Key findings:

• Only 1 plan (2%) is gender-transformative
• 11 plans (17%) are gender-responsive
• 39 plans (60%) are gender-targeted
• 14 plans (21%) are gender-blind
• 0 plans include gender-transformative objectives or budgets
• 3 plans include gender in M&E but lack strategies
• 3 plans budget nothing for gendered actions despite having gender-focused objectives

The findings highlight a significant gap between political commitments and policy.

As the 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs approaches, the report calls for concrete action to integrate a gender perspective into NCD planning and implementation.