UNGA77: Who Calls For Urgent Action As Non-Communicable Diseases Kill 17m People Yearly

The World Health Organization has called on global leaders to take urgent action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which it said are responsible for 17 million premature deaths every year.

To accelerate the action, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, renewed the two-year appointment of Michael R. Bloomberg as WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. This is Bloomberg’s third reappointment as Ambassador, having first been appointed to the role in 2016.

This was made known at the first annual gathering of a Heads of State and Government Group for the Prevention of NCDs, led by the President of Ghana and the Prime Minister of Norway, held during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

WHO also released a new report titled “Invisible Numbers: The true scale of noncommunicable diseases” and a data portal that for the first time brings together all WHO data related to NCDs for 194 countries.

The report and portal highlight the extent of the global NCD burden, risk factors, and the progress each country is making to combat these diseases and conditions.

“Every two seconds, someone under 70 somewhere in the world dies of an NCD. Noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and lung disease now outnumber infectious diseases as the top killers globally.

“This report is a reminder of the true scale of the threat posed by NCDs and their risk factors,” said Dr. Tedros. “There are cost-effective and globally applicable NCD interventions that every country, no matter its income level, can and should be using and benefitting from – saving lives and saving money. I thank President Afuko-Addo, Prime Minister Støre, and Michael Bloomberg for their leadership and vision in addressing this major global health issue.”

“As we continue to respond to this pandemic and prepare for the next, we have seen the critical importance of addressing a major risk factor in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths – noncommunicable diseases,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries.

“Noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and cancer are the world’s biggest silent killers – but they can often be prevented with investment in proven, cost-effective interventions. I look forward to continuing to make life-saving investments in NCD and injury prevention alongside Dr Tedros and the WHO,” he added.

As WHO Global Ambassador, Bloomberg will continue to support global, national, and local efforts to protect people from NCDs and injuries. This work also advances the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goal target to reduce the global number of NCD deaths by one-third through high-impact, population-level policies and programmes implemented in cities across the world.