The WHO High Level Independent Committee on Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) published its working draft on Thursday, May 10th. The document gives four recommendations to member countries to strengthen efforts in the fight against NCDs, as it considers that they have been insufficient. The final report will be published on June 1st and will serve as the basis for the 3rd WHO High Level Meeting on NCD, which will take place on September 27th in New York.
The four recommendations are:
- To establish priorities to combat NCDs. Countries should carry out effective measures recommended by the WHO, such as the elimination of cervical cancer through vaccination, x-rays and treatment.
- To increase commitment with the private sector. Governments and companies should ensure access to medicines and vaccines against NCDs of good quality and at low prices.
- To increase financing against NCDs. Member States should allocate a greater percentage of the national budget to the health sector, and specifically to the treatment of NCDs.
- To strengthen accountability. It should be easier to access information about the funds allocated to the fight against NCDs.
The document explains that if governments follow these recommendations, the percentage of people between 30 and 70 years old who die annually, mainly in developing countries, will be reduced.
The Committee was created in February by the Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The objective is to prepare a report with recommendations to national governments to combat NCDs. Among the 25 members of the Committee there are the most relevant Latin Americans: Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay and co-president of the Committee; Adolfo Rubinstein, Minister of Health of Argentina; Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile; and José Narro Nobles, Minister of Health of Mexico.