Non communicable diseases (NCDs), mainly cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and chronic lung disease, are responsible for roughly two out of every three deaths today. Other NCDs, including mental illness, accidents, renal disease and dental disease, kill or maim millions more. The World Health Organization (WHO) is now putting the final touches on a draft Action Plan…

As part of the outcome of the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs, the political declaration adopted acknowledged the special challenges faced by children and youth in preventing and treating non communicable diseases, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic lung disease (including asthma). It is…

The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine's lead article this issue is about non communicable diseases (NCDs). Authors Lisa Rosenbaum and Daniela Lamas review the existing evidence, and agree with WHO…

Public Health Institute is participating in the UN High Level Session on Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in New York. PHI's President and CEO Mary Pittman, DrPH, Center for Climate Change and Global Health Director Cristina Tirado, PhD, and Special Advisor for Global Health Policy and Development Jeff Meer are registered observers at the conference. In…

One of the many stories to emerge from the conference on non communicable diseases (NCDs) in the poorest of the poor held at Harvard Medical School over March 2-3, 2011 is the idea that there is no sharp dividing line between NCDs and infectious ones.  "This is a false dichotomy that must be rejected," said Jean Claude Mbanya, president of the International Diabetes Federation and professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Yaounde, Cameroon.…

On February 2, 2011, Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), spoke at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the subject of non communicable diseases (NCDs) and global health.  In his talk, Dr. Fineberg noted that today, approximately 80 percent of the mortality associated with non NCDs (cardiovascular disease, lung disease, cancers, and diabetes) occur in less developed nations.  Dr. Fineberg noted that NCDs are incredibly expensive.  He cited the…