MANILA, XINHUA - The World Health Organization (WHO said Friday that strong and committed political leadership is needed for its development members to stem the rising tide of noncommunicable diseases (NCD).

Shigeru Omi, WHO's Regional Director for Western Pacific, told the 51st Regional Committee that the major burden of the NCD has been fallen on developing countries.

"In the past, non-communicable diseases were regarded as diseases of affluence, limited to developed countries. We can no longer take this view," Omi said.

The annual meeting of the Regional Committee, WHO's governing body in the Western Pacific Region, was held from September 18 to 22 in Manila.

At the meeting attended by over 150 representatives from 37 countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region, including 14 ministers of health, the committee reviewed WHO's work in the last year in the region, including the status of controlling the NCD.

Omi said urbanization, industrialization and globalization are increasing the exposures of many people to unhealthy lifestyles and behavior, leading to the rise of the NCD.

These diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes, are major public health issues in almost all countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region.

It is estimated that the CVD kill three million people each year, while there are about 3.5 million new cancer cases in the Region every year.

The current number of people with diabetes is at least 30 million and this is projected to double by 2025. Of these 30 million people with diabetes in the region, 75 percent are from developing countries.

Omi said that "limited resources, the low priority assigned to the NCD and low awareness of risk factors, have meant that many developing countries have been unable to respond effectively to the global NCD epidemic."

To tackle the rising tide of the NCD, Omi urges member states to plan and implement integrated approaches, which are more effective and efficient than single disease programs.
　　
　　(From HealthWorld Online)