WHO calls for increased partnership to curb noncommunicable diseases

        

24 April, Yangon: Noncommunicable diseases are top killers in WHO’s South-East Asia Region, causing an estimated 7.9 million deaths every year. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental disorders can be prevented through effective public health approaches that address risk factors, such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and harmful use of alcohol.  Interventions are needed from multiple sectors such as health education, food and nutrition, environment, transport and communications.  Community education and the use of appropriate technology to address equity and social justice issues are also needed to tackle these diseases.

WHO has organized a meeting of health experts, policy makers and partners from 11 Member States of the Region to follow-up on the UN High-level meeting on noncommunicable diseases.  The two-day meeting will also discuss projects on mental health including strengthening of primary care to deliver mental health care, reducing harm from alcohol use and promotion of mental well-being in the communities.

“The reported burden of noncommunicable diseases in South-East Asia is just the tip of the iceberg. A public health approach with appropriate research is urgently needed to bring this invisible portion to our attention for action,” said Dr. Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. “Our current health systems are highly skewed towards medical care despite undisputable evidence that public health interventions are much more cost effective. This is disheartening because resources for health are scarce and the health systems are overstretched” he added.

Mental and neurological disorders are among the leading cause of disability for people affected and their families. Measured in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY), these account for 13% of DALYs globally. In low-income countries, mental disorders account for 25% of years lived with a disability and 34% in middle-income countries. Unfortunately, approximately 76% to 85% people in low and middle-income countries in South-East Asia with severe mental disorders receive no treatment for their mental health conditions. In the Region, national surveys of morbidity due to mental and neurological disorders have been conducted in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

Harm from alcohol use is now increasingly recognized as a major public health problem. It is linked to almost 2.5 million deaths and 69 million DALYs. It also causes immense social, psychological and economic harm such as gender-based violence, poverty, occupational loss and psychological distress.  Pilot studies in the Region have conclusively shown that harm from alcohol use can be substantially reduced through community action in which the community recognizes its own harm and develops solutions to reduce the harm. In addition appropriate policies to control manufacturing, distribution and availability of alcohol are needed.

There is a growing commitment in the Region to respond to the huge burden of noncommunicable diseases, mental health and neurological disorders. Myanmar has taken steps to address NCDs. Comprehensive legislation on tobacco control was adopted in 2005 and it came into force in 2006. As a result, smoking prevalence is decreasing gradually among students and adults. Recently, a multisectoral national policy on noncommunicable diseases was finalized.  The Ministry of Health has also successfully carried out a nation-wide risk factor survey in 2009 using the WHO STEPS approach. The government plans to implement interventions for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases through the primary health care system.

What: Regional Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases Including Mental Health and   
             Neurological Disorders

When:   24-26 April 2012,

Where:  Hotel Sedona, Yangon, Myanmar

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WHO’s South-East Asia Region comprises of the following 11 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

For more information please contact:

Ms Vismita Gupta-Smith, Public Information and Advocacy Officer, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), New Delhi, Tel: 91-11-23309401, mobile + 91 9871329861,

e-mail: guptasmithv@searo.who.int