One in four dementia deaths, those of 626,000 people, is caused by air pollution. That shocking statistic is one of the findings of the&nbsp;<a href="https://ncdalliance.org/stories/news-blogs/2025/report-confirms-deadly-impact-air-pollution-brings-new-data-dementia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2025 State of Global Air report</a>, which we’re discussing in this episode. Last year’s report is the first to examine the impact of air pollution on brain health, including how it affects neurodevelopment and mental health. Our guests are Dr Burcin Ikiz, a neuroscientist and adjunct lecturer at the department of psychiatry at Stanford University, and the chair of the international neuro climate working group, and Dr Pallavi Pant, Head of Global Initiatives at the Health Effects Institute.&nbsp; Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Learn more: ncdalliance.org

Air polution's impact on brain health

In this episode we learn about a partnership that is successfully addressing the deadliest form of cancer affecting women — breast cancer. Since it began in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Breast Cancer Initiative has aimed to reduce breast cancer by 2.5% per year. Over a 20-year period achieving that would save 2.5 million lives. Dr. Mary Nyangasi, WHO’s Technical Lead for the programme, says that since the initiative was launched as a pilot programme in select cities globally, it has generated lessons for both local and national healthcare systems. Notes Alexander Roediger, Associate Vice President of Global Oncology Policy for MSD, “To beat cancer you need quick action and strong infrastructure, you need screening and diagnosis, you need quick referral to cancer doctors and the right treatment. All this is much more than we as a company developing and researching new treatments can do.” Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Learn more: ncdalliance.org

Collaborating against breast cancer

In this episode of&nbsp;Voices of the Health Revolution, Gina Sanchez speaks with Dr Téa Collins from the World Health Organization and Tamara Schudel from Roche about the WHO Young Researchers Programme — a global initiative strengthening research capacity in low- and middle-income countries to tackle noncommunicable diseases and mental health challenges. The conversation explores how empowering early-career researchers and fostering multisector partnerships can accelerate progress on NCDs and drive innovation where it’s needed most. Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Discover more:&nbsp;<a href="https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Factonncds.org%2Fstories%2Fleadership-dialogues&amp;token=2fd920-1-1758180491744" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org</a>

Young researchers shaping the future

Hon Jahnel Nisbett says she knew her government’s awareness-raising on NCDs was working when a schoolgirl corrected the Sweet Potato Pie recipe that she was reading out to the girl’s class. “No —that’s too much sugar!” she exclaimed. The Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis has the third highest NCDs mortality rate in the Americas,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.paho.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/ncds-glance-2025-21-mar.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Pan American Health Organization</a>. In today’s episode Nisbett, Minister of Health, Gender and Social Development in the Nevis Administration, outlines the unique challenges faced by the country and its responses to date to the growing epidemic.&nbsp; Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Discover more:&nbsp;<a href="https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Factonncds.org%2Fstories%2Fleadership-dialogues&amp;token=2fd920-1-1758180491744" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org</a>

Small island, big moves on NCDs 

The guests in this episode are Liz Arnanz Daugan, Policy and Advocacy Manager at NCD Alliance, and Owen Jackson, Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK (CRUK). They chat about the leadership role that civil society, including organisations like CRUK, plays in bringing about policy changes to create healthier environments. Examples in the UK include new legislation to create the first ever smokeless generation and a law banning advertising of unhealthy foods. Collaboration with other organisations and the ability to adapt to a fast-changing environment are keys to success, notes Owen. This is another episode from our Leadership Dialogue series, conversations recorded in early 2025 for our Time to Lead campaign, which will culminate in the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health, on 25&nbsp;September 2025. Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Discover more Leadership dialogues:&nbsp;<a href="https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Factonncds.org%2Fstories%2Fleadership-dialogues&amp;token=4b4055-1-1756892614633" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org/stories/leadership-dialogues</a>

A dialogue on NCD prevention and solutions (Leadership Dialogues edition) 

In this episode we’re speaking about leadership with the new President of the NCD Alliance Board of Directors, Leslie Rae Ferat, in the context of the huge challenges posed by the upcoming High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health (HLM4). Also Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, Leslie received a Luther L. Terry Award at the World Conference on Tobacco and Health in June for her pioneering work. While the tobacco control movement continues to contend with industry interference and a major funding gap, Leslie says it can offer the broader NCDs response the tool of tobacco taxes, which, along with other health taxes, should be a easy investment decision for governments. As a leader, Leslie says her priorities will be to: encourage collaboration, create platforms to raise the voices of people living with NCDs, and champion evidence-based advocacy. “The two big priorities for us will be really solid outcomes at the High-Level Meeting and putting into place a sound and innovative strategy for the next four to five years for the NCDA,” adds the NCDA President. Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Find out more: <a href="actonncds.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org</a>

Time to Lead: A conversation with Leslie Rae Ferat, NCDA's new chair

This is a special episode of the show. Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Global NCDA Forum in Rwanda, Dr Mohammed M Seyam and Maleeqah Karriem recorded one of a series of Leadership Dialogues created for NCDA's Time to Lead campaign. In the conversation, they share insights into their NCD advocacy journeys — and why they are speaking up not only for themselves, but also for their communities and all people living with NCDs. "Ideas start with only one person talking about something, and then the group would talk about it, and then a community would talk about it, and then slowly, with a campaign like this, the whole world can talk about what we do and what we want to do," says Mohammed. Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Discover more Leadership dialogues:&nbsp;<a href="https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Factonncds.org%2Fstories%2Fleadership-dialogues&amp;token=cb65b-1-1752772828178" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org/stories/leadership-dialogues</a>

Young people leading on NCDs (Leadership Dialogues edition)

Fiscal policies for the NCD response go beyond taxes on harmful products like tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Kenya has recently applied a two percent levy on all tobacco products manufactured or imported into the country. It will be a “game changer” says one of the guests on today’s episode, Celine Awuor, CEO of the International Institute for Legislative Affairs. On the other hand, action on alcohol lags behind that of tobacco, in part because of society’s continued acceptance of alcohol use. That emboldens the alcohol industry, says our second guest, Jacqui Drope, who leads the RESET programme at Vital Strategies. “When our technical teams are walking in the door to meet with government officials, Big Alcohol is just walking out of the room.” Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

How fiscal policies can save lives 

After working together for years addressing cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at city level, colleagues at C/Can and Roche looked back at the high and low points of their partnership. Each organisation then decided independently that it was time to create a framework to help structure their multisector collaboration and share their learnings with others interested in partnerships. They brought in outside experts and after about a year produced their&nbsp;<a href="https://citycancerchallenge.org/uploads/2025/04/Collaboration-Framework-Final-template.pptx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Collaboration Framework</a>, a tool that has been spotlighted by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Closing_Health_Gaps_through_Collaborative_Action_2024.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>. In this episode, we’re speaking with Harold Cottin, Head of Global Public Affairs at C/Can, and Fernando Arnaiz, Access Lead for low- and mid-income countries at Roche, about the journey to create the framework. Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it. Find out more:&nbsp;<a href="https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Factonncds.org%2Ftake-action%2Fcall-to-lead-on-ncds&amp;token=3856aa-1-1727266859675" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">actonncds.org</a>

Framing a CSO/private sector partnership 

Voices of the Health Revolution is a podcast series that shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who are leading bold action to protect our universal right to health - even when that means taking a stand against the big industries who threaten it.

Voices of the Health Revolution

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