Chronic diseases and health promotion
World on cusp of radical shift in prevention and control of NCDs
The clock is counting down to a historic moment in the fight against cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic lung diseases: the September 2011 United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases.On 10 May 2010, the General Assembly resolved to stage a High-level Meeting of heads of state and government to tackle the health, development and socioeconomic impacts of these four primary NCDs.The resolution noted the need for concerted action and a coordinated response at the national, regional and global levels in order to adequately address the developmental and other challenges posed by non-communicable diseases, in particular the four most prominent groups of non-communicable diseases, namely, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.Awareness around the terrible toll these four diseases inflict in both health and economic terms is at its highest level in decades, as is global willingness to make a game-changing shift in the way we protect populations from NCDs in both health and economic terms. The United Nations family and governments worldwide, as well as civil society and members of the private sector, the are anxious to ensure that next September achieves a truly historic set of results in the fight against NCDs.The statistics are clear: 35 million people die annually (or over 60% of all deaths globally) from these four diseases. Over 9 million of these people were aged under 60 years, representing lives that are lost prematurely. And the overwhelming majority of these premature deaths are occurring in developing nations.The causes are also clear. These four NCDs share four common risk factors: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity and poor diet. The world has at its disposal measures that target risk factors, and if effectively applied millions of people will be able to live healthier, longer lives, instead of falling victim to these diseases.Among these tools are the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which is the world’s most powerful tool to protect people from the deadly affects of tobacco use. The Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health aims to protect and promote health and reduce disease and death rates. The Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol provides policy action and interventions to tackle this worrying risk factor. And the overarching 2008-2013 Action Plan for the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases shows how multiple interventions can be brought together to combat NCDs.The World Health Organization sees the 2011 UN High-level Meeting as a monumental milestone that can meet the calls being made by many countries to increase the priority given to NCDs, reduce their socioeconomic and development impacts, and lead to greater attention given to NCDs within global development initiatives. Doing so can save lives, help alleviate poverty and allow people and their countries to be better able to achieve a range of long-lasting gains.
