Medical News
The huge death toll from noncommunicable diseases
If the world gets its act together , millions of people could live longer and healthier lives
Noncommunicable diseases ( NCDs ) cause about 17 million premature deaths every year , said World Health Organization ( WHO ) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus . He called for countries to step up their efforts to lower the number of premature deaths caused by them .
He made the call at the gathering of the Heads of State and Government Group for the Prevention of NCDs , during which the WH� released its report , “ Invisible Numbers : The true extent of noncommunicable diseases� , which collected data on NCDs in 194 countries . The report makes clear the scale of the problem , highlighting that every two seconds someone in the world under �0 dies of an NCD . Some of the most common NCDs like heart disease , cancer , diabetes , and lung disease cause more deaths than infectious diseases globally . A Gallup survey showed that most respondents in Colombia , India , Jordan , the United Republic of Tanzania , and the US consider NCD or NCD risk factors as the biggest health problem in their country .
�There are cost-effective and globally applicable NCD interventions that every country , no matter its income level , can and should be using and benefitting from — saving lives and saving money ,” said Dr Tedros during the event .
Another �allup study suggested there ’ s a low awareness about the key risk factors for NCDs , which include tobacco and alcohol consumption , unhealthy diets , and being sedentary . However , most people across the countries surveyed are in favour of interventions and policies that can lower the number of NCD deaths , like having more green areas in urban environments and raising taxes on tobacco .
Countries around the world agreed to make significant progress this decade when they signed on to the 20�0 UN Sustainable Development �oal target to cut the number of NCD deaths by onethird by implementing population-level policies and programmes in their countries . However , only a small number is estimated to be doing what is necessary to meet that target .
“ NCDs undermine social development and are a handbrake on global development ,” said Bente Mikkelsen , director of NCDs at the WHO , according to the Guardian . “ World leaders recognised the critical importance of NCDs in the sustainable development goals , aiming to reduce premature death from NCDs by one-third by 20�0 . But currently , �ust �� of �9� countries globally are on track to achieve this goal .”
Though NCDs are responsible for almost threequarters of global deaths , 86 percent of them take place in low- and middle-income countries , highlighting significant ine�ualities among nations .
Along with tackling NCD risk factors , such as reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption , the WHO says countries need to strengthen their healthcare systems as millions of people , especially in lowerincome areas , still don ’ t have access to prevention and treatment to avoid or slow the development of NCDs .
If all countries implemented the interventions that have proven effective against NCDs , the world could prevent at least �9 million NCD deaths by 20�0 , according to the new WH� report .
Though NCDs are responsible for almost threequarters of global deaths , 86 percent of them take place in lowand middleincome countries .
22 SEPTEMBER 2022 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com