119 countries participated in the three day negotiations concluding on a total of 9 voluntary global targets and 25 indicators that will contribute to the global effort to combat chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer.
- Norway has given high priority to this work in recent years and we are very pleased that the world has now come to a consensus on the goals that will guide us in our work in the coming years, says Norwegian Minister of Health and Care Services, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre.
According to WHO, chronic non-communicable diseases in 2008 accounted for 36 million deaths, equivalent to 63 percent of the world's mortality. Previously, these diseases were mainly considered a challenge among the rich countries in the world, but is now also increasingly a problem in developing countries. In 2011 the UN General Assembly held a High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases where WHO Member States were tasked to identify a common set of indicators that can help the world to understand and compare the trends in risk behaviors and mortality globally and recommend a set of voluntary global targets.
Norway was elected to chair the negotiations and is very happy the Member States were able to come to agreement.
- The world has now established a common basis for further work, which makes it much easier to coordinate efforts and identify measures to prevent disease and save lives, says chairman Dr. Bjørn-Inge Larsen.