India
Chronic Diseases are leading cause of death in South-East Asia
By World Health Organization (WHO)
Oct 6, 2005, 21:20

The World Health Organization (WHO) report, 'Preventing Chronic Diseases: a vital investment' says global action to prevent chronic disease could save the lives of 36 million people who would otherwise be dead by 2015.

Currently, chronic diseases are by far the leading cause of death in the world and their impact is steadily growing. The report projects that approximately 17 million people die prematurely each year as a result of the global epidemic of chronic diseases.

Faced with the prospect of millions of people dying prematurely and suffering needlessly from heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, WHO says the global epidemic of chronic disease must be stopped. Contrary to common perception, this largely invisible epidemic is worst in low and middle income countries, where 80% of all chronic disease deaths occur. The report details the latest findings from nine countries: Brazil, Canada, China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United Republic of Tanzania.



In the South-East Asia Region Region, 54% of all deaths are due to chronic disease, and 89 million people in South-East Asia are likely to die of such a disease in the next 10 years. 60 million such deaths are likely to occur in India alone. Obesity, an important cause of chronic disease, is predicted to increase in both men and women in the Region in the next decade.

According to Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, �Major chronic diseases targeted by WHO in South-East Asia Region for integrated surveillance, prevention and control include cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic pulmonary diseases and diabetes. Available evidence points to the pivotal role of a cluster of common risk factors such as tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, hypertension, and high blood concentrations of glucose and cholesterol in these diseases. Information from both developed and developing countries indicate that comprehensive long-term health promotion and integrated disease prevention programmes targeting major risk factors can significantly reduce the incidence of chronic disease and decrease overall morbidity and mortality.�

The report also provides new projections for the economic impact of chronic diseases. For example, China, India and the Russian Federation could forego billions of dollars in national income over the next ten years as a result of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. The estimated accumulated losses to China from 2005 to 2015, for example, are US$ 558 billion, for India US$ 236 billion, and US$ 303 billion for the Russian Federation. In 2005, India alone is estimated to lose USD 9 billion in national income from premature deaths due to such illnesses.

A supporting statement in the report by Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, says, �In India, as in many developing countries, public health advocacy to date has been mainly devoted to infectious diseases. However, we now have major public health issues due to chronic diseases that need to be addressed with equal energy and focus.�

At least 80% of premature heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, and 40% of cancer could be prevented through a healthy diet, regular physical exercise and avoiding tobacco products.

In this report, WHO proposes a new global goal: to reduce the projected increase of chronic disease death rates by 2% each year until 2015. This would prevent 36 million people dying of chronic diseases in the next 10 years, nearly half of them before they turn 70.

In the South-East Asia Region, a 2% annual reduction in deaths due to chronic disease could save over 8 million lives in the next 10 years. In India, a similar reduction of chronic disease death rate at the national level would also result in an economic gain of USD 15 billion over the next 10 years.

In order to achieve the goal, all sectors from government, private industry, civil society and communities, will have to work together. "More and more people are dying too early and suffering too long from chronic diseases", said Dr Catherine le Gal�s-Camus, Assistant Director General of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, WHO, "We know what to do, and so we must do it now."

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