A group of agencies concerned about the burden of NCDs on human and economic development in the Americas has launched a new task force to accelerate multisectoral action for prevention and control of NCDs in the region.

"Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic lung diseases are the leading killers in the Americas and around the world, and tackling them requires collective efforts and multisectoral approaches, such as the alliance we are launching today," said Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), at the launch event held in Washington DC on Wednesday 16 June.

PAHO/WHO will chair the new Inter-American Task Force on NCDs, working collaboratively with the Organization of American States (OAS) and other partners including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the World Bank.

The task force will support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with policy advice, technical assistance, resource mobilization and capacity-building while also facilitating a common and harmonized approach, optimal use of resources, and networking and information exchange among agencies of the Inter-American system and partner institutions to ensure maximum impact.

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