NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

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World Health Organization (WHO) study highlighted that Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and stroke, cancer, diabetes and respiratory illnesses are responsible for 74 % of all deaths across the globe.
- Non-communicable diseases, along with mental illnesses, kill more than 41 million people every year across all age groups.

Details

NCDs are largely preventable and treatable; yet, the diseases kill more than 7 out of 10 people globally from risk factors like tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and air pollution.
WHO suggested that the adoption of the right policies can prevent 39 million deaths by 2030.
Low- and middle-income (LMICs) countries suffer the most: 86% of the 17 million people under the age of 70 who die of non-communicable diseases every year belong to LMICs.
- Prevention, treatment and Healthcare are out of reach for millions of people in LMICs.
- The study highlighted that with sufficient investment, 90% of these countries can meet the UN-mandated sustainable development goal to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by a third by 2030.
In India, 66% of all deaths are the result of non-communicable diseases, with cardiovascular diseases accounting for the highest 28% of these deaths.
According to the study; Tobacco use, unhealthy diet, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity and air pollution are the main risk factors.
- WHO suggested that “Eliminating these factors could prevent or delay significant ill health and many premature deaths from non-communicable diseases.”
The study concluded that policies to reduce non-communicable diseases would also provide economic benefits for countries.
- Nearly 7 million lives could be saved for just $0.84 per person per year. This investment would provide a return of more than $230 billion as economic and societal benefits.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is working for improving international public health.
The WHO's working principle includes:
- Working worldwide to promote health.
- Keeping the world safe.
- Serve the vulnerable.
It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards, and collects data on global health issues.
It also releases the World Health Report, which provides assessments of worldwide health topics.
WHO also serves as a forum for discussions of health issues.
WHO has played a leading role in the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Its current priorities include communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19, malaria and tuberculosis, etc.
WHO Headquartered is in Geneva, Switzerland.
- It has 6 regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

Way Forward

World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a group comprising heads of governments has been formed to fast-track the goal to reduce premature death from non-communicable diseases (NCD) by a third. The focus areas of the group will be:
- Implementing the most cost-effective measures to prevent and control NCDs.
- Ensuring that the people living with NCDs have access to the medicines and care they need during humanitarian emergencies.
- Integrating NCDs within primary health care and universal health coverage.
- Develop Comprehensive NCD surveillance and monitoring system.
- Engaging the people living with NCDs and mental health conditions in policy-making and programming.