Healthy Caribbean Coalition - Non-Communicable Diseases
a priority for women's health and development
NCD Alliance - 2011 - English This report was released by the NCD Alliance to focus on the specific needs and challenges of girls and women at risk of, or living with, non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), namely
cancers, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory
diseases and diabetes, are chronic, costly but largely
preventable diseases. These four diseases share
common modifiable risk factors and are a major
cause of poverty, a barrier to economic development,
and a serious threat to the achievement of the UN
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2009, the
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the
global NCD epidemic as a “public health emergency
in slow emotion”.
NCDs are the world’s number one killer,
causing 60% of all deaths globally. A
staggering 35 million people die every year
from these silent killers, of which 18
million are women. NCDs represent the biggest
threat to women’s health worldwide, increasingly
impacting on women in developing countries in their
most productive years. The costs of NCDs to families
and societies are high and escalating, in terms of
healthcare and lost productivity. For these reasons,
NCDs have been identified as a global risk, and one
of the most important threats to businesses and
economies.
This publication is the first to focus on the specific
needs and challenges of girls and women at risk of, or
living with, NCDs. It aims to draw attention to NCDs
as a priority for women’s health and development,
stimulate policy dialogue on the particular issues
related to girls and women in the lead up to the first
ever UN High-Level Summit on NCDs in September
2011, and inform actions by all partners going
forward. It complements existing strategies such as
the WHO 2008-2013 Action Plan for the Prevention
and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, and
builds on plans such as the 2010 UN Global Strategy
for Women’s and Children’s Health which refers to NCDs as a key element of
improving the health and lives of girls and
women worldwide.
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First published
here.
a civil society alliance for combatting chronic disease in the caribbean
a civil society alliance for combatting chronic disease in the caribbean
a civil society alliance for combatting chronic disease in the caribbean
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