NCD Alliance

“We are starting interventions too late”, said Professor Mark Hanson, President, International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease; at the NCD Alliance side event “A Healthy Future for All: Investing in Early Years for NCDs and Post-2015”, held on 21 September 2014 at Westin Grand Central Hotel, New York, against the backdrop of the UN 69th General Assembly.

Many of the risk factors for NCDs originate in the early stages of life, as early as conception and patterns of consumption of unhealthy products and exposure to social and environmental determinants are established in childhood and adolescence.

There is an urgent need to translate the political commitment for an integrated approach to NCDs and RMNCH, reflected in the 2010 UN Secretary General Strategy on Women and Children’s Health and the 2011 UN Political Declaration on NCDs, into action and measurable results on the ground.

The 69th UN General Assembly high-level week begins this Sunday 21 September in New York. Numerous side events are planned throughout the week, covering NCDs, universal health coverage (UHC), maternal and newborn child health, and the post-2015 development agenda.

A selection of NCD-related events, hosted by NCD Alliance and our collaborators are below:

The World Alzheimer Report 2014 ‘Dementia and Risk Reduction: An analysis of protective and modifiable factors’ was released today by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI).

It reveals persuasive evidence for dementia risk reduction and calls for dementia to be integrated into both global and national public health programmes alongside other NCDs. 

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has recently launched Healthy Lifestyle Community, a web site for health enthusiasts, people interested in learning more about NCDs, people looking to share ideas about health-related projects, and more.

The site consists of a free, self-paced course about NCDs and ways to reduce risk factors. In addition, there is a community  forum for users to ask questions, collaborate on projects, and share tips for  healthy living. 

The first “Civil Society Report on the Situation of NCDs in Brazil” has just been launched by the Alliance for Tobacco Control (ACT+), calling for an integrated approach towards the NCD epidemic.

ACT+ asked for more awareness-raising campaigns amongst young people on the risks factors of NCDs, during the report launch event, in Brasilia.

September 2014 marks the third global World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma.

Alzheimer associations around the world will focus their campaigns on advocacy and awareness with information provision, Memory Walks, media appearances and free memory screenings taking place across the globe.

On 1 September 2014, nominations opened for the 2014-15 cohort of Emerging Leaders. Candidates may be nominated by a World Heart Federation member organization, or submit an application directly themselves.

Each year’s group works around a theme set by the World Heart Federation, which focuses on a key CVD priority area. The theme for 2014-15 will be ‘raised blood pressure’.

The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States concluded yesterday in Apia, Samoa. The NCD Alliance was represented by Ms Annabel Lyman, who made two statements on behalf of the NCD Alliance; one at the Side Event on Health and Non-communicable Diseases, and one at the Multi-stakeholder official partnership dialogue on Social development in Small Island Developing States, health and non-communicable diseases, youth and women.

With World Spirometry Day to be launched on 5 September in Munich, Germany, and World COPD Day taking place on 19 November, the EU COPD Coalition has produced a number of videos to help to raise awareness on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Click the links below to view the videos.