Tackling the leading causes of death in the Americas: Launch of the Inter-American Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases

Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 3:00 pm

Organization of American States Headquarters, Washington DC

Event Agenda 2015

NCDs The purpose of the event is to launch the Inter American Task Force on NCDs and discuss the collaboration among the Inter-American organizations and associated international institutions and agencies, to support Member States in the prevention and control of NCDs and their related risk factors. The Inter-American Task Force on NCDs promotes collaboration across various sectors of government in the Americas for a comprehensive response to NCDs at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. The Task Force includes the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Organization of American States (OAS), including the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) and the Inter-American Children's Institute (IIN), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the World Bank. The event will take place at the Headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.

Rationale

Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) are diseases of long duration and generally are of slow progression. NCDs are principally: cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, together with four shared behavioral risk factors: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and the harmful use of alcohol. NCDs account for about 80% of deaths in the Region of the Americas. Thirty six percent of these deaths occurred prematurely in persons aged less than 70 years of age. Millions of people live with at least one NCD in the Americas, and many millions more are at risk of developing a disease because of their risk factors.

4 diseases The human and economic impact is too large to ignore. Moreover, the causes and impacts of NCDs extend beyond the health sector, and require a multi-sectoral, multi-partner approach to achieve sustainable impact. If these current trends are to be reversed, it is critical that we place NCDs as the highest priority on the political agenda, along with intersectoral approaches to prevent, reduce and control the disease burden. Actions by government sectors other than the health sector are critical to tackle modifiable risk factors that are causal to the four principal NCDs, and to address the social determinants that particularly impact vulnerable populations, in order to create the conditions for healthier behaviors.