MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay hosts NCDs global conference organized by WHO and PAHO

World leaders agree that NCDs, mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, represent one of the major health challenges

Uruguay will be hosting form 18 to 20 October the global conference on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) which is organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Office of the President of Uruguay Tabare Vazquez, and the Ministry of Health of Uruguay. The purpose of the conference in Montevideo is how to enhance policy coherence between different spheres of policy making that have a bearing on attaining SDG target 3.4 on NCDs by 2030.

 The Conference is part of the preparatory process leading to the third High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on NCDs in 2018. The Conference is expected to result in a concise outcome document. It is expected that the outcome document will be endorsed by the participants of the Conference.

The outcome document may also serve as an input into the discussions at the 71st World Health Assembly on the preparations for the third High-level Meeting of the United General Assembly on NCDs in 2018, as well as the intergovernmental process on the outcome document for the third High-level Meeting on NCDs in 2018, which will take place under the auspices of the President of the UN General Assembly.

World leaders agree that the global burden and threat of NCDs, mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, represent one of the major health challenges of our times.

In 2015, NCDs were responsible for 40 million deaths, representing 70% of all deaths worldwide. A large proportion of deaths were premature: over 15 million people (38% of NCD deaths and 27% of all global deaths) died between the ages of 30 and 70. 85% of premature deaths from NCDs occurred in developing countries, including 41% in lower-middle-income countries where the probability of dying from an NCD between the ages of 30 and 70 is up to four times higher than in developed countries. Most of these 15 million premature deaths from NCDs could have been prevented or delayed.

But based on the current rate of decline in premature mortality from the four main NCDs, the world will not be able to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4 to, by 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from NCDs through prevention and treatment.