Take action: 18th August, 2011

With only one month to go until the UN Summit, now is a critical time to send a letter to your Head of State, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Health and UN Ambassador in New York, and a press release to your national and local media. To make this easier for all of us, the NCD Alliance has prepared letter templates and press releases that you can find below. Please do what you can, write a letter, send out a press release, and lets tell our Government leaders that we expect more from them in the negotiations leading up to the UN Summit;

Letter template to send to your country's Head of State, Ministers and UN Ambassador in New York

• Template Letter for Heads of State_English
• Template Letter for Heads of State_French
• Template Letter for Heads of State_Spanish

Press release templates to send to your country's media

• Template press release Heads of State_English
• Template press release Heads of State_French
• Template press release Heads of State_Spanish

Please share any responses from your government as this would greatly assist the efforts of our negotiators in New York.

Below are a list of other advocacy resources and ideas you can use to take action. By sending the same messages to political leaders around the world, we can truly make a difference. Mobilize your friends, take action against NCDs!

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• Write a letter to your government: Use our 'letter template' to write a letter to your government leaders. This will take you about 5-10 minutes. We've done the hard work for you - all you need to do is download the template and supporting documents, modify the letter to meet your local context, then post or email it to your government leader or local politician. Be sure to keep the tone diplomatic and refrain from using inappropriate language. Download the letter template here: Letter_version_1.doc. Don't forget to include the following supporting documents with your letter. Download our Youth Manifesto on NCDs here: Youth_Manifesto_on_NCDs.pdf. Download the article Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crisis from the Lancet website by clicking here. The best way to send these documents is by fax, or by post (emails sometimes get ignored).
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• Send out a press release: Now you have sent your letter with supporting documents its time to tell the press. Use our 'sample press release' to send to your local newspaper - this will raise awareness in your local community and make sure politicians pay attention! Again this should not take you long at all. The sample document can be downloaded here: Sample-press-release.doc. Again, the best way to send this is by fax, or by post (emails tend to get ignored).
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• Become a leader, start a local level group: You can also build momentum in your country or community by starting your own advocacy group. Click here to get going!
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• Hold an event to raise awareness: Support our campaign by organizing a local or national event to raise awareness of the global NCD burden and the need for action.
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• Get creative: Do you have other innovative ideas for taking action? Please let us know. On the homepage of this website is an 'idea' sharing tool. Post your idea and ask others to vote on it. We can use the best ideas in our advocacy efforts.
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• Share your success: Have you taken action? Great! Share your success with other Network members. Once you are registered on this site, click on the 'Quick add' drop down menu on the right of this page to add a blog post or discussion about what you have done, how you did it and what the outcomes were.
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Other resources

Do you need more information? Below are high impact resources from other organizations you can use for more expansive advocacy efforts.

NCD Alliance resources

The NCD Alliance comprises the world's leading NCD advocacy and membership organizations and provides a range of detailed pages on the upcoming UN Summit and key actions for advocacy. Click here to access these resources. The Alliance recently released their Proposed Outcomes Document for the UN High-Level Summit, which details a set of ground-breaking proposals for a successful UN High-Level Summit. The NCD Alliance Proposed Outcomes document can also be downloaded by clicking here. The Alliance has also recently collaborated with world leading experts to outline key priorities for action on NCDs. Click here to read more about this article published recently in the Lancet.

World Health Organization (WHO) resources

The WHO has a range of excellent resources, including posters and a detailed advocacy guide. Click here to access these resources. You can also visit the WHO's NCDnet (Global Noncommunicable Disease Network) website here.

International Diabetes Federation (IDF) resources

The IDF is an umbrella organization of over 200 national diabetes associations in over 160 countries. It represents the interests of the growing number of people with diabetes and those at risk and has been leading the global diabetes community since 1950. The organization's website has high quality advocacy materials targeted at the upcoming UN Summit. Click here to access these resources.

World Heart Federation (WHF) resources

The WHF is a nongovernmental organization committed to uniting its members and leads the global fight against heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low-and middle-income countries. The organization is the world's only global body dedicated to leading the fight against heart disease and stroke, facilitated via a united community of almost 200 member organizations that bring together the strength of medical societies and heart foundations, from more than 100 countries. The WHF website has a range of detailed pages on the upcoming UN Summit and key actions for advocacy. Click here to access these resources.

Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) resources

The UICC was founded in 1933 and is the largest cancer fighting organization of its kind, with more than 400 member organisations across 120 countries. The UICC website also has materials and information on the upcoming UN Summit. Click here to access these resources.

International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) resources

The Union 'brings innovation, expertise, solutions and support to address health challenges in low and middle income populations. With nearly 10,000 members and subscribers from 152 countries, The Union has its headquarters in Paris and regional and country offices serving the Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America and South-East Asia regions. Its scientific departments focus on tuberculosis, HIV, lung health and non-communicable diseases, tobacco control and research.' Click here to access more information about NCDs and lung health on the organization's website.