Chronic conditions are the health issues that require ongoing management over a period of years or decades. They include chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) but also a few communicable diseases and conditions (like disabilities) that lasts longer. The chronic conditions are on the rise globally and in India, where it has become a leading cause of deaths and disabilities. There are several factors implicated in the rise in chronic conditions, from genetics and individual lifestyle to changes in demography and the broader environment. Therefore, prevention and management of chronic conditions require an inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral engagement.

In this cluster, we are specifically interested in how health policies and policies across other related sectors impact prevention and control of chronic conditions at a population level, including the major risk factors for such conditions such as tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diet and inadequate physical exercise. The cluster builds on the premise that broader social determinants of health operating at the macro- and the meso-level influence the individual behavioural choices (lifestyle) as well as shape the environment in which these choices are to be made.

Hence, our focus on public policies and intersectoral actions for health. In this context, we are also interested in studying the increasing role being played by commercial entities in shaping the epidemic of chronic conditions as well as the policy responses. The cluster aims to deepen our work on some of the relevant concepts/approaches including but not limited to ‘social determinants of health’, ‘political economy of health’, ‘health-in all policy’ and ‘harm industries’.