Stories and Viewpoints

Access & Impact

March 26, 2026

In clinics from major cities to remote villages, a quiet shift is underway. General practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and community health workers – often the first and only point of care for their communities – are gaining access to something too often out of reach: high-quality, expert-led training on the world’s deadliest conditions. 

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for seven in ten deaths worldwide, yet many are preventable. Bridging this gap in knowledge and access is the mission of the NCD Academy, a free, online education platform developed by the American College of Cardiology in collaboration with the NCD Alliance and the World Heart Federation, with Viatris as founding sponsor.  

This compelling short film was produced for Viatris by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions as part of the WHO Foundation’s Healthier Together series. It captures what this looks like in practice: a primary care provider in rural Greece tackling cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic conditions with new confidence and new tools.  

For Viatris, supporting the NCD Academy is core to our mission of empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life. The need is urgent. In many countries, fewer than one physician serves every 1,000 residents, making it essential to equip the broader health workforce to prevent, detect and manage NCDs.  

Since launch, the NCD Academy has empowered many thousands of healthcare professionals across 165 countries – progress that means Viatris has met not only met, but surpassed our sustainability goal of positively impacting 100 million patients through HCP education and outreach by the end of 2025. We have also recently launched new courses in Cardiovascular Disease and the Environment, and Technology-Enabled Cardiovascular Care. We are continuing to evolve the content to address important areas of educational need. 

The momentum is real. And at the heart of it are clinicians who, thanks to accessible education, are rewriting what’s possible for their communities. The film spotlights a global truth: when healthcare professionals are equipped, patients everywhere have a better chance to thrive.