Bangladesh Moves to Integrate NCD and Mental Health Care into Emergency Preparedness

The Government of Bangladesh, with support from the World Health Organization, is strengthening the integration of noncommunicable disease care into emergency preparedness and response.

In Bangladesh, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and kidney disease, account for nearly 71% of all deaths in the country, with almost half occurring prematurely.

At the same time, Bangladesh is also highly vulnerable to recurrent natural disasters and humanitarian crises, such as cyclones, floods, landslides, and large-scale population displacement.  These emergencies can disrupt access to medicines, treatment, and follow-up care, placing people living with chronic conditions at even higher risk of complications, disability, and preventable death.

While Bangladesh has a strong emergency response system for infectious disease outbreaks and trauma care, the integration of NCD services into preparedness and response remains limited. Health facilities often lack contingency planning, supply chains are vulnerable to disruption, and frontline responders may not be fully equipped to manage NCD care during crises. 

Lessons from Cox’s Bazar

Cox’s Bazar is home to over 1.4 million Rohingya refugees across 33 camps, alongside vulnerable host communities, creating one of the world’s most complex humanitarian settings. Since 2017, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), WHO, and partners have integrated hypertension, diabetes and mental health services into camp-based primary care. These services are guided by WHO PEN-HEARTS and MHPSS protocols, and to date, more than 3.8 million NCD consultations and over 131,000 mental health consultations have been delivered. Innovations such as standardized clinical protocols, task-sharing with community health workers, mobile outreach clinics, and strong monitoring and supervision have helped ensure continuity of care, even in high-risk and protracted crisis settings. These lessons now provide an important model for the rest of the country.

Inception Meeting Highlights: Integrating NCD and Mental Health Services into Emergency Response

UN agency representatives discussed their experience integrating NCD and mental health services into emergency preparedness. Photo credit: WHO/Terence Ngwabe Che

On 11 December 2025, the Government of Bangladesh and the World Health Organization organized an inception meeting in Cox’s Bazar, on the integration of NCDs into emergency preparedness and response. The meeting brought together subnational health authorities, humanitarian partners, UN agencies, and technical experts to explore practical strategies for maintaining continuity of care during disasters and humanitarian crises.

“Ensuring that people living with chronic diseases and mental health conditions continue to receive care during disasters is not optional. It is a fundamental part of building a resilient health system. Bangladesh is committed to integrating NCDs into emergency preparedness so that care never stops, no matter the crisis.” stated Dr Narwal, Deputy WHO Representative, emphasizing the importance of integrating NCD care.

Dr Rajesh Narwal, WHO Deputy Representative in Bangladesh, highlights the importance of integrating NCD and mental health services into emergency preparedness and response. Photo Credit: WHO/Terence Ngwabe Che

Integrating NCD Care into Emergency Response: Lessons and Next Steps

Participants analyze current actions, coordination mechanisms, and gaps to strengthen NCD and mental health services in emergencies. Photo credit: WHO/Terence Ngwabe Che

During the meeting, presentations highlighted the significant burden of NCDs in Bangladesh and the rationale for integrating NCD services into emergency response, together with lessons from the Cox’s Bazar humanitarian response. These insights were complemented by group work activities and panel discussions with representatives from UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO.

Building on this, participants formulated a set of actionable recommendations, including the documentation of best practices, targeted gap analyses, and the development of priority actions to inform local emergency preparedness and response plans.

As a direct outcome of the meeting, participants agreed on several priority next steps, such as:

• integrating NCD services into existing emergency preparedness plans,
• pre-positioning essential NCD medicines and supplies in disaster-prone districts,
• strengthening supply chains to prevent stock-outs during emergencies,
• deploying outreach and mobile clinics for continuity of NCD care during disasters,
• and establishing simple real-time monitoring systems to track access to essential NCD services and medicines during crises.
  

If implemented, these measures have the potential to strengthen continuity of care for people living with NCDs during emergencies and reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. 

Paving the Way for National Action

The Cox’s Bazar experience demonstrates that continuity of care for NCDs is achievable even in protracted crises, through careful planning, strong leadership, and collaboration between government and humanitarian actors.

The inception meeting was therefore critical to translate local lessons into recommendations that can inform national policies. By documenting key insights, identifying gaps, and defining clear next steps, MOHFW, together with WHO, are building the foundation of an emergency-ready health system that protects vulnerable populations before, during, and after disasters. This district-level initiative now sets the stage for the mechanisms to integrate NCDs into the emergency preparedness and response policies and strategies at the national-level, which can potentially save millions of lives. This Novo-Nordisk foundation supported project will continue till end of 2026 and the Bangladesh experience will provide vital evidence and lessons to other low resource settings in the region and globally.

For more information about this publication, please get in touch with Terence Ngwabe Che, External Communication Officer, Cox’s Bazar Sub Office, WHO Bangladesh, at [email protected]