scholarly journals Diet related NCDs: Time for action

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-132
Author(s):  
Shah Md Mahfuzur Rahman ◽  
Shah Monir Hossain ◽  
Mahmood Uz Jahan

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and posing significant challenges both in developed and developing countries including Bangladesh. In 2016, of the total 56.9 million global deaths, 71.0%, were due to NCDs. Some 85.0% of premature deaths from NCDs, are in low and middle income countries, where greater burden of undernutrition and infectious diseases exist.1-3 Evidence suggests a higher age specific mortality for NCDs among Bangladeshi population compared to Western populations, which putting burden on healthcare systems. 4 Bangladesh NCD Risk Factors Survey, 2018 showed that among the adult population, the mean salt intake was 16.5 gram per day and the prevalence of dislipidaemia was 28.4 %.5 Sugar consumption also continues to rise, driven by increased intake of beverages, biscuits, sweets and confectionary items. Industrially produced transfat in some food items is also an important issue in the country. Malnutrition is a key risk factor for NCDs. Globally, nearly one in three people has at least one form of malnutrition, and this will reach one in two by 2025, based on current trends.6-8 All forms of malnutrition are caused by unhealthy, poor quality diets. Unhealthy diets that include high sugar, salt and fat intake, malnutrition, and NCDs are closely linked. Not only on the health, malnutrition and diet related NCDs pose a substantial burden on the economy and development. Food systems worldwide face major challenges, such as population growth, globalisation, urbanisation, and climate change. Today’s food systems are broken and do not deliver nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets; they undermine nutrition in several ways, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised populations. Billions of dollars are spent annually marketing foods high in calories, fats, sugars, and salt, and intake has increased globally, including in low income countries.8 United Nations (UN) is well committed to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases through adopting series of resolutions in its General Assembly.  In 2013, Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) resolved to develop and implement national action plans, in line with the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (2013–2020).9 NCDs are also embedded in sustainable development goal (SDG) target 3.4, that is, to reduce by one-third the premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases by 2030. NCDs are also linked to other SDGs, notably SDG 1 to end poverty. In 2017, the WHO Global Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases reaffirmed noncommunicable diseases as a sustainable development priority in the Montevideo roadmap 2018–2030.10 Bangladesh has also developed the Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control                             of Noncommunicable Diseases 2018-2025, with a three-year operational plan.11 Earlier the country has developed National Nutrition Policy, 2015, Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition, 2016-2025, Dietary Guidelines and other policies, strategies and action plan. The country is putting efforts for the prevention and control of malnutrition and NCDs. Furthermore,  to prevent and control the diet related noncommunicable diseases across the life cycle nutrition labelling, re-formulation of food standards with limiting high sugar, salt and fat, and banning industrial transfats; restriction of food advertising particularly marketing of unhealthy foods to children, imposing tax on sugar sweetened drinks, junk food etc. Aimed at behavior change communication, mass-media campaigns, nutritional advice and nutrition education on NCDs in general and diet related NCDs in particular are thus recommended.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taha Nasiri ◽  
Shahram Yazdani ◽  
Lida Shams ◽  
Amirhossein Takian

PurposeNoncommunicable diseases (NCDs) count for over 80% of premature death worldwide. More than 76% of the total burden of diseases in Iran is devoted to NCDs. In line with the World Health Organization action plan, Iran has developed its national action plan that led to establishment of the National Committee for Prevention and Control of NCDs (INCDC), whose aim is 30% mortality reduction attributed to NCDs by 2030. The stewardship of health system is the cornerstone of performing and sustaining meaningful actions toward prevention and control of NCDs. The literature is tiny on how to materialize the stewardship and governance of health system. The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a national study that aimed to identity functions and subfunctions of stewardship of NCDs and its related risk factors in Iran.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative study. The authors conducted interviews with 18 purposefully selected interviewees until the authors reached saturation. Thematic content analysis was used for analysis and MAXQDA 10 was employed for data management. The difficulty of coordinating with interviewers and health policymakers in the field slowed the process of research progress.FindingsThe authors identified seven themes and categorized them as main functions for appropriate stewardship of NCDs in Iran, including intelligence generation; strategic framework; evidence-based policies/decisions; system design; resource allocation/development; capacity-building and enforcement/alignment; and categorized them as important.Practical implicationsThe seven themes presented as stewardship functions include concepts and practical examples of the experiences and performance of leading countries in the field of NCDs control that can help policymakers and health managers for better descion-making.Originality/valueIran adopted its national action plan in 2015 and WHO selected Iran as a fast-track country in 2017. The study confirmed that to achieve the global targets, appropriate and contextual stewardship for any specific setting is fundamental. Iran needs to improve its stewardship for prevention and control of NCDs and implement its national action plan. Therefore, the functions and policies outlined in this article for the proper performance of NCDs can improve more meaningful practices in this area in Iran and many other countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-50
Author(s):  
Gyambo Sithey ◽  
Anne Marie Thow ◽  
Jayendra Sharma ◽  
Karma Lhazin ◽  
Mu Li

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are major public health problem in Bhutan, accounting for 68% of total deaths. The growing epidemic of NCDs threatens the achievement of Gross National Happiness (GNH). NCDs are the results of complex interaction of social and economic risk factors and change in diet and lifestyle. Effective action to prevent and control these diseases requires a whole-of-government approach.In this paper we review new evidence to support political priority for NCDs in Bhutan. One third of the Bhutanese are overweight (33%) and hypertensive (35.7), and 6.4% are diabetic. The prevalence of modifiable risk factors is also very high. We also present the analysis of strategic policy opportunities for health sector to integrate the ‘Multisectoral national action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs, 2015-2020’ into policies across all relevant sectors. Our analysis has identified three specific opportunities for the health sector to engage strategically to strengthen action on NCDs and GNH, concurrently: 1) raising priority actions on NCDs within the existing GNH multisectoral committee, to achieve both health and happiness objectives; 2) identifying shared agenda between NCDs and GNH to achieve both health and happiness objectives; and 3) identifying shared GNH determinants between NCDs and GNH to enhance action on NCDs. Addressing NCDs aligns with the optimization of Gross National Happiness. It is imperative that the Government of Bhutan recognize that action on NCDs is an integral element for achieving GNH.


Author(s):  
Andreas Ullrich ◽  
Anthony Miller

As the burden of many cancer types of major public health relevance worldwide are in part determined by behavioral risks, much of the success of cancer control depends on the up take of prevention strategies at the population level. Over the last decade, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed global prevention strategies of major relevance for cancer prevention and the prevention of other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as the 2003 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and others. The implementation of these core strategies gained momentum in 2011, when heads of states at the United Nation's (UN) High Level Meeting (HLM) on NCDs declared that NCDs are a global health threat that menaces social and economic development globally and requires urgent action. They asked for a paradigm change of the global health agenda by including NCD prevention and control into the group of priorities set by the Millennium Development Goals. WHO's translation of this call for action by the UN into practice has been consolidated into one clearly defined the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013–2020, including the pre-existing prevention strategies. Although cancer risk reduction will profit from the WHO Global NCD Action Plan, comprehensive cancer prevention and control will require other supplementary strategies not included in the plan because they are not shared with other NCDs. Causality of the over 200 cancer types is complex. A myriad of non-behavioral factors such as environmental and infectious risks, require specific attention when planning comprehensive cancer prevention. In reducing the cancer burden globally much will depend on how prevention strategies are implemented and how progress in cancer treatment can be translated into the reality of health systems in less affluent countries.


2018 ◽  

As the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) continues to have its negative impact on lives, livelihoods, and economies across the globe, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), has taken action to strengthen its technical cooperation with Member States in addressing these diseases, their risk factors, and related issues, through the development and implementation of the Regional Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of NCDs. The establishment of national NCD plans is one of the four main global NCD commitments, however only a selected number of Caribbean countries have been able to establish such plans. In an effort to provide information and share knowledge of successful experiences and practices in establishing national NCD plans, this in-depth qualitative analysis was conducted in the selected countries. This report highlights the good practices and successes that can be replicated in other countries that have not yet established their NCD plans. It also identifies areas that can be strengthened for greater effectiveness in NCD prevention and control. PAHO/WHO anticipates the use of this report not only as a tool for countries, but also as a guide for enhanced technical cooperation and collaboration between PAHO and its Member States. As such, governments, civil society, the private sector, as well as other development organizations can use these plans to carry out comprehensive, effective, multisectoral interventions for NCD prevention and control throughout the Caribbean.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrude Sika Avortri ◽  
Juliet Nabyonga-Orem

Purpose Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) constitute a major threat to patient safety and affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The World Health Organization in 2016 published guidelines on the core components for infection prevention and control (IPC) programme. This was in response to a global call for focused action. The purpose of this paper is to examine and promote understanding of the tenets of the IPC guidelines and highlight their implications for implementation in low-income countries. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from personal experiences in leading the implementation of health programmes as well as a review of published and grey literature on IPC, authors discussed and proposed practical approaches to implement IPC priorities in low-income setting. Findings Availability of locally generated evidence is paramount to guide strengthening leadership and institutionalisation of IPC programmes. Preventing infections is everybody’s responsibility and should be viewed as such and accorded the required attention. Originality/value Drawing from recent experiences from disease outbreaks and given the heavy burden of HAIs especially in low-income settings, this paper highlights practical approaches to guide implementation of the major components of IPC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 94S-101S ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga ◽  
Bui Thi My Anh ◽  
Nguyen Nguyen Ngoc ◽  
Dang Minh Diem ◽  
Vu Duy Kien ◽  
...  

The primary health care system in Vietnam has been playing an important role in prevention and control of diseases. This study aimed to describe the capacity of commune health stations in Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). A mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative approaches) approach was applied to collect data in 20 commune health stations. The participants, including health workers, stakeholders, and patients with NCDs, were selected for the study. The findings reported that the main activities of prevention and control of NCDs at commune health stations (CHSs) still focused on information-education-community (IECs), unqualified for providing screening, diagnosis, and treatments of NCDs. The capacity for prevention and control of NCDs in CHSs was inadequate to provide health care services related to prevention and control of NCDs and unmet with the community’s demands. In order to ensure the role and implementation of primary care level, there is an urgent need to improve the capacity of CHSs for prevention and control of NCDs, particularly a national budget for NCDs prevention and control, the essential equipment and medicines recommended by the World Health Organization should be provided and available at the CHSs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 124s-124s
Author(s):  
I. Fadhil ◽  
B. bin Belaila

Background and context: NCDs represent the major health burden in UAE, accounting for 65% of all deaths in UAE. At national level, UAE national agenda 2021 signified the high level commitments toward NCD prevention and control. The national agenda includes a set of national targets that aims on reducing NCD mortality and burden. Those targets are aligned well with WHO global targets for 2025 and the 2030 for sustainable development goals and targets. Aim: To draw on the experiences of UAE that had made good progress in integrating NCDs into national development agenda and developing national accountability mechanism to facilitate engagement of nonhealth sectors. Strategy/Tactics: The national multisectoral action plan for NCD prevention and control for (2017- 2021) provides a clear road map for NCD action. Program/Policy process: there have been various policy interventions and programs to support this agenda, including the inclusion of NCDs with measurable targets and indicators under the third of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Outcomes: Taking into account the vital role of nonhealth sectors, key performance indicators were assigned for each sectors and a regular in-house reporting system has been institutionalized to allow effective progress, which was monitored by a committee lead by Prime Minister office. A number of fast track initiatives has been undertaken to reduce the NCD burden, such as screening and health promotion programs conducted by the primary healthcare, taxation on sugary drinks and tobacco, national periodic health and cancer screening initiatives, smoking cessation, and breast cancer screening campaigns. What was learned: Ensure full engagement of national stakeholders, during development and implementation of NCD action plan is critical. The role and responsibilities of each sector has to be agreed upon. Developing national targets and indicators with accountability scheme is essential to monitor progress.


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