Three out of four global deaths are due to non-communicable diseases.

75% of deaths around the world are caused by diseases that are not contagious.

Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and respiratory diseases are directly attributed to 80% of premature deaths.

One hopeful note is that these diseases don’t spread from person to person. But they are still killing millions - often because they’re detected too late.

Iskra Reic, Executive Vice President, International AstraZeneca, has a stark warning about the current state of healthcare systems that are letting down millions of patients every year: “Act early. Or pay later.”

Non-communicable diseases now account for three out of four deaths globally. This number doesn’t capture the wider toll on families, healthcare workers, governments, and societies.

Many health systems were not built to keep people healthy. They were built to treat people once they are already sick. So what will it take to move from ‘sick care’ to true healthcare?

At this year’s Annual Health Roundtable, global leaders gather in Geneva to redefine healthcare through innovation, sustainable financing, and AI-driven strategies and to design systems defined not by how we treat disease, but by how early we act.

Part of the World Economic Forum's work on NCDs. Read more here.