The next global health disaster: Non-communicable diseases

THE International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) has called on the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health.

NCDs, which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease, cause 60 per cent of all deaths globally and 80 per cent of these are in low- and middle-income countries.

WHO projects that globally NCD deaths will increase by 17 per cent over the next 10 years. The greatest increase will be seen in the African region (27 per cent) and the Eastern Mediterranean region (25 per cent).

The highest absolute number of deaths will occur in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia regions.

The global call, issued by the three organisations at the meeting of the UN ECOSOC in Geneva, demands five essential actions:

1. Call for an 'MDG Plus' containing NCD progress indicators in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) review

2. Support the availability of essential medicines for people living with NCDs

3. Support a UN General Assembly Special Session on NCDs

4. Support the immediate and substantial increase of funding for NCDs

5. Integrate NCD prevention into national health systems and the global development agenda

The UN MDGs state that health is critical to the economic, political and social development of all countries, yet they contain no goals or targets for NCDs, which are the largest threat to health systems.

Public health experts are expecting ECOSOC leaders to show the way in confronting this health crisis faced by millions. The emerging epidemic of NCDs is threatening to overwhelm healthcare systems worldwide unless action is taken.

"This... didn't arise yesterday; it evolved over time and is getting worse. We need a revolution to change the trajectory if we are serious," said Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Health, Guyana.

The World Economic Forum's 2009 Global Risks report supports this with evidence that the incidence of chronic disease is rising across both the developed and developing world.

Medical advances and awareness can reduce the risk severity but chronic non-communicable diseases are still the main cause of death worldwide.

Evidence shows that up to 80 per cent of NCDs can be prevented by addressing risk factors like unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and tobacco use and those that are non-preventable can be treated inexpensively with essential medicines.

While medicines such as aspirin, penicillin, insulin and morphine have been on the Essential Medicines List for years, they still remain beyond the reach of many.

The three organisations together represent 730 member organisations in over 170 countries and vast networks of healthcare professionals, patient, and civil organisations.

They have joined forces to create a powerful voice for change and urge ECOSOC to take action in the face of the NCD epidemic.

Bobby Ramakant is a WHO Director-General's WNTD Awardee (2008), a HDN Key Correspondent and has been writing extensively on health and development. Email: bobby ramakant@yahoo.com

CNS