UN General Assembly Adopts Political Declaration on NCDs

UN General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a political declaration on non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a political declaration to mobilize accelerated efforts to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The text, titled "Time to Deliver: Accelerating our response to address NCDs for the health and well-being of present and future generations," was adopted at the General Assembly's third High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of NCDs, reports Xinhua news agency.

Premature Death: Many Countries Fail to Meet UN Target to Prevent Early Deaths from NCDs
Millions of people around the world die early due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. Many countries around the world fail to meet the United Nations (UN) targets to reduce premature deaths due to NCDs.

‘UN General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted ‘Time to Deliver: Accelerating our response to address NCDs for the health and well-being of present and future generations’ at the General Assembly's third High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of NCDs.’

It includes commitments to reduce by one-third premature mortality from NCDs by 2030, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the UN.

While acknowledging the progress achieved by some countries in controlling four major NCDs -- cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases -- the text recognized action to realize the commitments were inadequate.

The declaration requested the UN Secretary-General, in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other relevant parties, to submit to the General Assembly a report on the progress achieved in its implementation by the end of 2024.

Non-Communicable Diseases - A Rising Public Health Concern
Non-communicable diseases are the diseases that are non-transferrable and non-infectious among people. They may be chronic disease of prolonged duration or slow in progression.

While hailing it as "ambitious and balanced," UNGA President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces called for attention to the fact that a huge number of people between the ages of 30 and 70 will die in 2018 because of NCDs.

The poorest will likely suffer the most from illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which more broadly lead to annual GDP losses of up to 6 percent, she added.

WHO Independent High-Level Commission on Non-communicable Diseases
Sustainable Development Goal for NCDs to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by a third by 2030 and promote mental health will not be met at the current rate of progress, report authors.

Also present at the meeting were UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Source-IANS

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