A movement is born

Prior to 2009, no platform existed that unified young professionals to take action on NCDs at the global level and to be a central catalyst for the emergence of new leaders with new ideas, technical credentials, and the passion to confront the challenge. Recognizing this, the YP-CDN was born to connect emerging leaders across geographies and disciplines, providing a novel platform to amplify the voice of this growing demographic.

NCD Action and YP-CDN members at a conference in Boston

The first step to ensuring a healthy future for our generation is to ensure that we are kept informed, are able to self-determine our own stances, and have a social and political platform to influence the local, regional, national, and global dialogue on this 21st century public health emergency.

“The approach to generating technical and political attention to NCDs through young professionals is a unique one. This is not the first time youth have organized to lend themselves to an issue. But in this case young professionals have the added advantage of having enough knowledge on the issue to be able to articulate the problems more clearly. They have enough skills to be able to educate their peers about both the technical as the social dimensions of the NCD problem. They also have the ability and reach to communicate with policy makers in their respective countries and globally.”

-Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus, PAHO and leading voice on NCDs