As the world’s population reaches the 7 billion mark, we know that the 7th billion infant just born is more likely to die from a non-communicable disease than any other illness. NCDs — including cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes — cause more deaths than all other diseases combined; an estimated 36 million every year in total. And they strike hardest at the world’s low- and middle-income populations.

The devastating human cost of these diseases is coupled with a staggering economic cost due to lost productivity, foregone national income and rising health care costs. In just two decades, NCDs are estimated to cost the global economy $47 trillion, equivalent to eradicating $2-a-day poverty for more than half a century.

To combat this global health and development challenge, governments have adopted a series of bold commitments, including an ambitious goal to reduce premature NCD mortality by 25 percent by 2025. This acceleration in the political response gives those of us in the NCD community hope that our world leaders are now taking this issue seriously.

Read full article by Katie Dain, executive director of The NCD Alliance 

Want to learn more? Check out the Healthy Means campaign site

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Photo courtesy:  © Photoshare, Bangladesh, Sastho Apa, healthcare provider