WHO issues report on non-communicable disease

The World Health Organization has released a new report on the situation around non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in 193 countries as world leaders are getting ready to gather at a UN high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases in New York on September 19-20. "This report indicates where each government needs to focus to prevent and treat the four major killers: cancer, heart disease and stroke, lung disease and diabetes," Dr. Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health at WHO, said. The document includes details of how many deaths in each country are caused by NCDs, and provides information on the country's capacity to tackle the diseases. NCDs killed over 36 million people in 2008, with cardiovascular diseases accounting for 48% of the deaths, cancers 21%, chronic respiratory diseases 12%, and diabetes 3%. The WHO plans to issue an updated report in 2013.