Non Communicable Diseases: The Silent Killer
For too long, non-communicable diseases - cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes - have been silent killers.
As described by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, they represent a "public health emergency in slow motion". Progress to date on NCDs has been vastly inadequate and has resulted in the global catastrophe we find ourselves in today.
The World Economic Forum's 2010 Global Risks Report identifies NCDs as the second most severe threat to the global economy in terms of likelihood and potential economic loss. According to the Global Risk Report, NCDs are a global risk equal in cost to the current global financial crisis.
Because of the size of the epidemic, the diverse causes, and the universal impact, NCDs are everyone's problem. The epidemic is too big for governments to solve alone. Tackling the global NCD crisis head on requires a concerted and coordinated multi-sectoral response, committed to by world decision makers and business leaders, and stimulated and monitored by a strong civil society movement.
Currently, donor countries are operating a policy ban on funding NCDs, thereby starving low-income governments of the financial and technical assistance needed to turn around the NCD epidemic. This policy has to change, with overseas development assistance becoming aligned to the priorities of recipient countries.
NCDs stand as a major barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)and with only four years remaining to the MDG end date, urgent action is required to integrate NCDs into global health and development approaches and priorities. Yet, the international community displays no sense of urgency or outrage about NCDs, the silent killer that is threatening development and economic progress.
Source: The NCD Alliance
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