THE coronavirus pandemic may be gradually fading, but access to medicines for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) remain out of reach for millions of people around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The United Nations health agency's assessment came from its 'Access to NCD Medicines: Emergent Issues During the Covid-19 Pandemic and Key Structural Factors' report, which highlights the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on access to NCD medicines, and the policies and strategies implemented by countries to both anticipate and mitigate the disruption that has hit medical supply chains.