Alliance sur les MNT

Brazil has stepped up its fight against tobacco-related diseases by tightening the tobacco control legislation that has contributed to a 300 percent drop in the number of smokers between 1989 and 2013. The new regulations are aimed at continuing this decline in a country that still has 24 million smokers – 80 percent of whom began to smoke as teenagers.

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Four consultations are currently open with implications for NCDs and health in the broader development agenda. The NCD Alliance will be submitting a response on:

Health Ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met last week in Brasilia, Brazil to discuss issues including NCDs within the national contexts of their respective emerging economies. Ministers reaffirmed commitment to actions outlined in the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs, and in the Outcome Document of the 2014 UN Review and Assessment on NCDs, and the WHO Global NCD Action plan 2013-2020.

The NCD Alliance joined 500+ organizations around the world to launch the first-ever Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December 2014. This historic coalition will mark the anniversary of a landmark UN resolution urging all countries to provide universal access to health care without financial hardship.

The World Cancer Congress 2014 was immensely successful for NCDs, with links being drawn from cancer to the broader NCD agenda from start to finish. The NCD Alliance team had a strong presence at WCC, with numerous sessions highlighting NCD-related issues, and dynamic, interactive discussions at the NCD Cafe, organised by NCD Alliance supporters.

Calling for inclusive, agile and coordinated action to usher in an era of sustainable development for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today presented the United Nations General Assembly with an advance version of his so-called “synthesis report,” which will guide negotiations for a new global agenda centred on people and the planet, and underpinned by human rights.

On the the second day of the World Cancer Congress, the NCD Alliance took part in two core NCD sessions, one taking participants "Behind the Scenes of the Global Health and Development Debate" and the second entitled "Healthy Planet, Healthy People – Addressing NCDs in the Post 2015 Development agenda".

'The Emerging Global Health Crisis: Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries' report was released today by the Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force on NCDs in Washington, DC.

The Cancer Atlas website and The Cancer Atlas, Second Edition book – produced by the American Cancer Society, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the Union for International Cancer Control – provide a comprehensive global overview of information about the burden of cancer, associated risk factors, methods of prevention and measures of control.

The NCD Café sessions began on Wednesday with a packed out discussion on health in post 2015, and the essential need to invest in NCDs in order to secure a healthy future for all.

Since then, the NCD Café has seen a dynamic discussion led by WHO and NGO representatives on the need for a multisectoral approach in order to effectively tackle NCDs, and the urgency yet necessary thoughtful consideration of implementing such an approach.