Commonwealth consultation addresses challenges of dealing with non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill 35 million people each year but do not distinguish between the rich and poor, women and men, or the young and old, the President of the International Diabetes Federation told delegates at a conference hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat on 9 November.

“Of these 35 million deaths, eight out of ten come from middle and low income countries, many of which don’t have programmes to tackle the problem,” Professor Jean Claude Mbanya said.

Citing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he described the impact of NCDs as a ‘public health emergency in slow motion’ but stressed that next year’s High Level UN Summit in New York is the political platform needed to successfully galvanise the global health community.

“This is our generation’s chance to change the future,” said Professor Mbanya, emphasising the need for collective and cross-sectoral action on NCDs.

The Commonwealth consultation was attended by government and civil society policy experts, including representatives from ministries of health from five Commonwealth countries, the International Diabetes Foundation, and the National Heart Forum.

It focused on sharing challenges and successes with regard to NCDs and discussing a collective strategy towards ensuring the UN’s New York meeting concluded with a strong outcome and measurable targets.

Sir George Alleyne, former Director of the Pan American Health Association and UN Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, stressed that the September 2011 summit was a historic opportunity to ensure that NCDs are integrated into the global health and development agenda.

He urged the Secretariat to use its influence and encourage Commonwealth Heads of Government to attend the summit, which he described as “hugely important in the whole history of the UN”.

Dr Sylvia Anie, Director in charge of Health Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat, asked delegates to consider ways in which the Secretariat could support member countries.

She drew attention to the next Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting, scheduled for May 2011, which will focus on NCDs, just four months before the UN summit. Delegates reiterated the need to ensure that the outcome of the ministerial meeting fed into the September summit.

Dr Joseph Amuzu, Acting Head of Health at the Secretariat, outlined the organisation’s response to the 2009 mandate from Commonwealth Heads of Government on NCDs. The Commonwealth Secretariat Roadmap on Non-Communicable Diseases was accepted by health ministers in May 2010 and had been worked into a set of activities for the Secretariat to implement, he said.

The Roadmap calls on the Secretariat to use its unique convening position to facilitate partnerships, and to develop a Commonwealth-wide report on NCDs, a best practice document, and a media strategy.

The consultation took place ahead of the launch of the third Lancet series on Chronic Diseases and Development. In his address at the London launch, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith described the increase of NCDs in the Commonwealth as more than a health challenge: “The impact of non-communicable disease on human development is significant and increasing,” he said.

Listen to the opening remarks by Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith

“There is the direct cost to individuals ... and there is the immense cost to society as health care expenditures rise.”

Mr Smith called on the health and wider global community to promote the adoption of evidence-based interventions, strengthen health systems and to share resources and best practices.

Robert Beaglehole, Emeritus Professor, University of Auckland, thanked the Commonwealth Secretariat for its work on NCDs. At a press conference before the launch, he said: “The Commonwealth Secretariat has been hugely successful in mobilising countries towards the High Level Summit.”

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