WHO welcomes initiative to combat noncommunicable diseases, responsible for 7 in 10 deaths worldwide |
This decision was made at the International Strategic Dialogue on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and SDGs, held in Accra, Ghana, where the new Global Compact on NCDs was launched. The dialogue by WHOalong with Ghana and Norway.
National leaders stressed the urgency of what WHO calls the NCD pandemic, which kills seven out of 10 people globally due to risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diets , inactivity and air pollution.
7 million lives saved at low cost
The United Nations health agency says NCDs are largely preventable and treatable, with nearly seven million lives being saved for as little as US$0.84 per person per year between now and 2030. said the United Nations health agency.
This investment will result in social and economic benefits of more than $230 billion and eliminate nearly 10 million heart attacks and strokes globally by 2030.
The group will now convene annually at the UN General Assembly, with the first meeting scheduled for September 2022.
Compact will focus on five key areas:
1) Save the lives of 50 million people by 2030 who could die prematurely from NCDs by taking the most cost-effective preventive measures.
2) Protect the 1.7 billion people living with NCDs by ensuring that they have access to the medicines and care they need in an emergency.
3) Integrating NCDs in primary health care and universal health coverage.
4) Comprehensive NCD monitoring and tracking.
5) And finally, meaningfully involve the 1.7 billion people living with NCDs and mental health conditions in planning and policymaking.
Nana Addo Dankwa Afuko-Addo, President of Ghana, presented his country’s success in implementing measures to reduce tobacco demand and introduced guidelines on NCD management, but also highlighted the challenges for lower-income countries in accelerating action.
“Preventing NCDs requires leadership to provide visibility into NCD issues,” he said. “I ask my colleagues at the top of the state to join hands… as we find solutions to NCDs with a roadmap to universal health coverage and Sustainable development goals. In our time, this will be our legacy.”
Life is cut short
WHO Director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in addition to the death toll, “NCD diseases take a heavy toll on economies, cutting people off from their most productive years. Overcoming this challenge requires technical, financial and above all political commitment. I thank the Governments of Norway and Ghana for establishing the first Global Group of States and Governments on NCDs and launching the Global Compact on NCDs.”
Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, said investing in stronger health systems, service delivery and prevention of NCDs would make vulnerable populations more vulnerable to diseases. better resistance. COVID-19 and future pandemics.
“This is also important to promote universal health coverage. NCD prevention, access to treatment, and medicine must be core components of efforts to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response, and build a better post-pandemic recovery. ”
And Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, told the meeting that NCDs account for almost a third of all deaths in Africa, “where they not only seriously threaten health and well-being but also hinder socioeconomic development. The commitment reached today marks an important step in accelerating progress against these diseases and their risk factors and the suffering and death they cause.”
