NCD Dialogues at 47th World Conference on Lung Health
24th October 2016
Supporters of NCD Alliance have organised two NCD Dialogues sessions for the upcoming 47th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Liverpool, on 27 and 28 October 2016.
These will provide an open environment for dynamic discussions on climate change, lung health & NCDs, and also the role of frontline health workers.
Session 1: On the Front Line: The Role of Front Line Health Workers in Preventing and Treating Lung Diseases and NCDs
People living with lung diseases, and in particular additional NCD co-morbidities, require ongoing complex and holistic care. With increasingly ageing populations in both developed and developing countries, the burden of these co-morbidities is continually growing, and yet health systems are ill-equipped to respond. In order to respond effectively to NCD co-morbidities, there is a need to place a strong emphasis on the value of early prevention, strengthen and reorient health systems for chronic conditions, to integrate care across lung health and other NCDs. The role of front line health workers is instrumental both in educating the population on NCD prevention, and in delivering integrated care for people with NCDs.
Session 2: Global Burdens, Global Opportunities
Climate Change, Lung Health and NCDs?Climate change and non-communicable diseases are acknowledged to be two of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Climate change is projected to have increasingly damaging effects on communities and economies over the coming decades, being set to cause several hundred thousand deaths annually by 2030. Despite the worsening health impacts of climate change, the links between these two areas create as much an opportunity as a threat. Chronic lung conditions and NCDs share common risk factors, of which air pollution, physical inactivity and poor diet are major causes of morbidity and mortality. These three risk factors share some of the same origins and solutions as climate change, across sectors including energy, transport systems, food and agriculture, and emissions from industry, commerce and workplaces.