Non-Communicable ailments like heart disease and hypertension are gradually replacing diarrhoea, tuberculosis and infections as the chief killers globally, according to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) released on Wednesday during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The report stated that diseases like “diarrhoea, HIV, tuberculosis, neonatal infections and malaria will kill fewer people than non-communicable diseases globally over the next 20 years.”According to the WHO’s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics, by 2030, non-communicable conditions are expected to cause more than three-fourths of all deaths; almost one-third of all deaths will result from cancer, heart disease and traffic accidents. In developing countries including India, the number one cause of preventable deaths is tobacco. More than eight million tobacco-related deaths are predicted in 2030—80 per cent of them in developing countries. In addition, ‘lifestyle’ ailments such as diabetes, cardiac problems and cancer and are expected to cost India income losses of about $236 billion by 2015. Apart from these conditions, the report underlined “infectious diseases and high infant and maternal mortality rates as some of our biggest challenges.”The report also draws attention to important issues in global health, including maternal mortality-in developing countries, the figure stands at 450 for every 100,000 live births as compared to nine in developed countries. Four out of 10 women and children in the developing world do not receive basic preventive and curative interventions and at current rates of progress it will take several decades before this gap is closed, the report said. Words of WarningThree impending crises threaten to damage human health on a global scale, says Margaret Chan, director-General, WHO:•RISING FOOD PRICES: Even though the world produces enough food to feed everyone, rising food prices will hit the poor hardest: the more a family spends on food, the less it has for healthcare.•CLIMATE CHANGE: Climate change is likely to affect all countries. More droughts, floods and storms mean greater demand for humanitarian aid and a growing number of environmental refugees.•INFLUENZA: Governments need to be prepared for the continued threat of pandemic influenza. Research on influenza viruses need to be prioritised and vaccines should be widely available.
