Global perspective Human stories

More action needed to reduce burden of noncommunicable diseases

More action needed to reduce burden of noncommunicable diseases

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Heart disease, lung disease, cancer and diabetes represent the largest cause of death of people under the age of 70 years worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

These four non-communicable diseases (NCDs) killed nearly 40 million people in 2012, many of them in developed countries.

WHO has just released a report which calls for countries to speed up action to address the factors behind these conditions, which threaten global development efforts.

Dianne Penn has been speaking to Melanie Cowan, a Technical Officer in the UN agency’s Department of Prevention of NCDs.

Duration: 3’42”

Photo Credit
World Bank/Aisha Faquir