20 May, Geneva- In conjunction with the 62nd session of the World Health Assembly, which opened on Monday 18 May, UICC, International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Heart Federation (WHF) hosted a joint event on yesterday on the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low- and middle-income countries. Opening the event was IDF President Martin Silink, who was followed by Ms. Bola Ojo, Executive Director of the World Heart Federation Africa Network, and Professor David Hill, President of UICC, who both gave brief key speeches about the growing epidemic of NCD like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

　　Three questions seemed to circle the event through the speakers’ messages and the roundtable discussion. The main question was why, with nearly 35 million deaths, are NCD ignored by most? President of IDF, Professor Martin Silink, weighed in first with the idea that most people believe that these diseases are, ’lifestyle diseases’, therefore people bring them on themselves by not doing enough to stay healthy. He believed that the mentality is, “Eat less, walk more, problem solved, and that the governments turn the problem back onto the people”. And why there may be some modifiable risk factors, most, and some of the biggest factors, are not. He lists some of these as advertisements of food aimed at children, the availability of nutritional foods in some communities, the amount of sports and exercise in the schools and work place, amount of stress accumulated from the work place, and the inability to improve upon poor living conditions. “I know that these sound like they are simple obstacles to overcome, but sometimes, especially in developing countries, they are nearly impossible”.

　　Professor David Hill added that the reason that governments and policy makers have a hard time making change is because it challenges the way people live their lives and like most, they are resistant to making change. Hill said that while developing countries need more resources, developed countries have this NCD epidemic too. But he also said that while resources are important, some of the solutions that could help fight off this epidemic would use little resources. “Mostly the epidemic of NCDs requires action and collaboration at the highest level, and it starts with these three organizations and their members to advocate the improvement of access to the medicine and medical care.”

　　Ms. Bola Ojo continued this discussion, focusing on Africa, by saying that NCDs are the silent killers in the healthworld. While yes, there is a major problem with TB, Malaria, and HIV/AIDS, an enormous number of people are also dying of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. NCDs are not fashionable, they do not strike as quickly and fiercely as HIV/AIDS or other communicable diseases, but in the end, those numbers are dwindling while NCD incidence rates are on the rise. “It cannot be a question of either/or, and because of the impact of both economical and social developmental rules, we must address the health needs of all of our people. Developing countries cannot afford NCDs to be ignored by the government and policy makers. Our call is that together we secure adequate funding to keep low cost health solutions and that we place particular emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and health promotions, which reaches out to poor communities.”

　　Present at the event was the National Director of Public Health in Mozambique, who talked about how NCDs were increasing in drastic numbers in his country. He discussed his new program that was implemented last year in an effort to combat this current epidemic in a nation where communicable diseases were previously the main health concern. July will see the implementation of a new cervical cancer screening programme, which will be rolled-out in every province. Planning is also underway help to improve patient treatment and care for Cardiovascular Disease. He lists the order of most important NCDs in Mozambique as Cardiovascular Disease, but believes the actual number of people who have Cancer is skewed due to the lack of resources for monitoring these statistics. He hopes that this new programme will help detect and allow for better treatment in the growing problem.

　　Responding to why these organizations chose to unite on the issue of NCDs and how the idea came about, Professor Hill joked that the idea stemmed from their Australian connection. Both Presidents of UICC and IDF and the Vice-President of WHF are all from there, and were discussing the issue on a recent mission together. But he went on to say it was an idea that had to happen. Combined, the three organizations represent the interests of 730 member organizations in over 170 countries. They are all experts in their individual fields and understand the battle that needs to be fought for this rapidly growing epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) called for concerted action on a global scale and identified a key role for non-governmental organizations. Therefore, UICC, IDF and WHF have joined forces to create a powerful voice for change and urge the international community to take action in the face of the NCD epidemic. When Ms. Ojo was asked why she thought it was important to work together as a team of this proportion she said, “Diabetes is a big issue, just like Cardiovascular Disease is a big issue, as is Cancer and we are not separate people with separate aspects to our lives. What we have is a combination of factors and a combination of issues. There is no point in treating someone for diabetes and then they die of Cardiovascular Disease. Might as well work together with very similar approaches and in terms of community education you can address it in one foul swoop.”

　　All three organizations agree that their members need to advocate and take action to their governments, policy makers, WHO, and Global Fund to just name a few. But, it is going to take more than just money; it will take human volunteers to really be able to combat this terrifying epidemic of the world’s leading causes in death.

( http://www.uicc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16651&Itemid=1 )