The Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases researchers' statement on non-communicable disease research with Indigenous peoples

Abstract

The Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) is an international alliance of public funders of health research in over 70 countries. GACD supports non-communicable disease (NCD) implementation science research in low-income to middle-income countries (LMICs) and priority populations in high-income countries, such as Indigenous peoples.1 GACD’s Indigenous Population Working Group (IPWG), led by Indigenous researchers, was established to ensure Indigenous guidance, and address gaps in implementation science with Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples represent a diversity of cultures, contexts, and lived experiences. They inhabit over 90 countries, constitute 6% of the global population (~370 million people), and speak 7000 languages.2 According to the UN, Indigenous peoples represent approximately 15% of the world’s extremely poor, with a life expectancy of up to 20 years less than non Indigenous peoples.3 This health inequity is primarily attributable to hig