Monday, September 19, 2011

Non communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
Infectious diseases were given maximum attention in the past. All the Governments (health departments) in different countries focused on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and controlled their spread. Now they are realizing that the non-communicable disease related morbidity and mortality is increasing across the world. It was initially thought that this is a phenomenon only in the developed nations and urban societies. Some studies have shown that it is the poor nations who are going to see this change and its effects. Even the rural people are also going to be affected like the urban populations. This will be affecting the economic status of the people and countries.

The global economic impact of the five leading chronic diseases—cancer, diabetes, mental illness, heart disease, and respiratory disease, could reach $47 trillion over the next 20 years, according to a study by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The estimated cumulative output loss caused by the illnesses, which together already kill more than 36 million people a year and are predicted to kill tens of millions more in future, represents around 4 percent of annual global GDP over the coming two decades, the study said. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the worldwide NCD epidemic is expected to accelerate so that by 2030 the number of deaths from NCDs could reach 52 million a year. The WEF study, which was conducted with Harvard School of Public Health, found the cumulative costs of heart diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer and diabetes in the poorer countries are expected to top $7 trillion in 2011-2025, an average of nearly $500 billion a year. Mental health, which is typically left off lists of leading NCDs, will account for $16 trillion, a third of the overall $47 trillion anticipated costs. The governments should take this in to consideration and plan their health budgets and develop the infrastructure facilities to deal with the changing patterns and prevent the same.

No comments: