Johns Hopkins University recently released a roadmap for progress in the global fight against NCDs.
FORBES: To Reduce Global Poverty, We Must Tackle Non-Communicable Diseases
But to win the battle against NCDs in many low- and middle-income countries, we need more than medicines.
FORBES: To Reduce Global Poverty, We Must Tackle Non-Communicable Diseases
But cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension are increasing worldwide, including in developing countries.
Imagine the negative impact that NCDs have on poverty reduction and economic growth in countries that can least afford it.
FORBES: To Reduce Global Poverty, We Must Tackle Non-Communicable Diseases
Fortunately, a movement of activists is pushing NCDs onto the global stage.
Cardiovascular disease is the largest cause of death in the world and accounts for almost half of all deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
FORBES: International Cardiology Groups Push For Aggressive Public Health Goals
While diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis have laudably gained the attention of the global health community, NCDs have been routinely ignored.
So far, unfortunately, the international response to NCDs has been underwhelming.
Though we think of NCDs as diseases of more affluent societies, some 80 percent of all NCDs today occur in low- and middle-income countries, due largely to changing lifestyles.
FORBES: To Reduce Global Poverty, We Must Tackle Non-Communicable Diseases
NCDs are expected to account for 73% of all deaths by 2020, and in the next five years the rate of NCDs in the developing world will increase by 19%.
Earlier this year, in response to a high-level UN meeting on NCDs in 2011, the World Health Assembly set a global target to reduce premature NCD mortality by 25% by the year 2025.
FORBES: International Cardiology Groups Push For Aggressive Public Health Goals
NCDs are usually issued as a program instruction.
FORBES: I, Like Ms. Fluke, Am Denied Free Access to Preventive Medicine
Today, four out of five people with NCDs live in low- and middle-income countries, and the World Economic Forum has identified NCDs as one of the top four global risks and one of the most important threats to businesses and economies.
Unlike Type 1 diabetes, most NCDs (including Type 2 diabetes which is far more common) can be attributed, ironically, to economic development that leads to longer lifespans and lifestyle changes such as smoking, and obesity, which often fall outside the traditional health realm and demand comprehensive and cross-sector strategies.
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