World Lung Foundation Applauds United Nations Vote for Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases
Thursday, May 13, 2010
(New York, NY) - World Lung Foundation (WLF) applauds today's result from the United Nations' vote to convene the first-ever world summit on non-communicable diseases, at the UN General Assembly in September 2011. This event will finally begin a coordinated effort to understand and address the threat posed by non-communicable disease (NCDs) including chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. These four diseases alone are responsible for 35 million deaths a year worldwide, 80% of them in low to middle income countries.
As tobacco use is the most significant risk factor for these diseases, comprehensive action to reduce smoking in low and middle-income countries must be a priority for funding and human resource allocation.
The summit will bring together heads-of-state and public health experts from around the world to assess the dangers posed by NCDs, and develop action plans.
"The scientific community has long been aware of the massive toll NCDs take, but public health systems in low and middle-income countries have not been reoriented to address these needs," said Dr. Neil Schluger, Chief Scientific Officer, World Lung Foundation. "This summit takes us one step closer to engaging governments and donor agencies in a coordinated effort to address the catastrophic toll these diseases are taking around the world."
About World Lung Foundation
World
Lung Foundation was established in response to
the global epidemic of
lung disease, which kills 10 million people
each year. The organization
improves global lung health by improving local
capacity to conduct
research, develop public policy and deliver
public health education.
The organization's areas of emphasis are
tobacco control, tuberculosis,
HIV/AIDS, asthma, and child lung health. For
more information, please
visit worldlungfoundation.org
For more information, please contact:
Jorge Alday, World Lung Foundation, at +1 (212)
639 0070 or jalday@worldlungfoundation.org.