World Lung Foundation Launches Web Campaign to Urge Heads-Of-State to Attend UN Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases
Monday, March 14, 2011
*Tobacco use,
the world’s #1 preventable killer, Remains
Neglected in Millennium Development
Goals*
*15,000 Deaths a
Day Can Be Prevented if Governments Address
Tobacco Use *
(March 14, 2011, New
York, NY,) – World Lung Foundation
today launched 15000aDay.org to explain the
urgent need to address tobacco use at the
first-ever UN Summit on Non-Communicable
Diseases (NCDs) this September. Tobacco use
kills 15,000 people every day, mostly due to
cancer, stroke, lung disease, and other NCDs.
Visitors to the website can learn
about tobacco’s deadly impact and the UN
Summit and generate letters to their UN
ambassador demanding that their country be
represented at the highest level. The
attendance of heads-of-state, and the
participation of civil society leading up to
the Summit, is critical to ensuring that NCDs
are included in the Millennium Development
Goals, which set targets and guide global
funding priorities.
Peter Baldini,
Chief Executive Officer of World Lung
Foundation said: “The time to act is now.
NCDs already account for 35 million deaths a
year globally, 80% of these deaths are in the
world’s poorest countries. The
number-one preventable risk factor is tobacco
use, which means concerted global action on
tobacco alone could save millions of lives
every year.”
“The threat extends far
beyond just those who directly suffer from
these diseases; according to the World Economic
Forum, NCDs are the second most severe threat
to the global economy in terms of livelihood
and potential economic loss. If governments are
serious about the health of their citizens and
the economic well-being of their countries,
they cannot ignore NCDs or tobacco use.
15000aDay.org gives citizens a tool to advocate
for a UN Summit that results in actions, not
words.”
15000aDay.org forms a central plank
of WLF’s commitment to the NCD Alliance, a
global coalition representing hundreds of
organizations working in the four major NCD
disease groups: cancer, diabetes, chronic
respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
The site was developed with the support of
Bloomberg
Philanthropies.
###
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 also
works on maternal and infant mortality
reduction initiatives. WLF improves global
health by improving local health capacity, by
supporting operational research, by developing
public policy and by delivering public
education. The organization’s areas of
emphasis are tobacco control, maternal and
infant mortality prevention, 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