Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Non communicable diseases are increasingly gaining prominence on the global health agenda. Evidence that they account for an estimated 60 per cent of global deaths highlights that efforts to reduce non communicable diseases would have a substantial impact on global health. This is a relatively new area of work for the Health Section and so far we have been largely focusing on scoping. We held an Advisory Group Meeting on NCDs in November 2008 and are in the process of finalizing several papers on NCDs in the Commonwealth. Our main objectives in this area are:

• To increase the profile of non-communicable diseases within Commonwealth countries and internationally. This will be done through high level dialogue and developing and disseminating publications.

• To examine low cost and policy approaches for addressing non-communicable diseases, primarily focusing on prevention.
  
  
• To identify the status of treatment and prevention programmes in Commonwealth countries through a series of in depth studies. These findings will be essential in identifying current problems and solutions to service delivery and identifying effective strategies that may be adopted at national and regional levels.
  
  
• To use research to develop useful policy recommendations.