The ISN Urges an Integrated Approach to NCDs at the 73rd WHO Regional Committee Session
The ISN took part in the 73rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific, which took place online and in person in Manila, the Philippines, from 24 to 28 October 2022.
As a non-state actor in official relations with the WHO, the ISN submitted two statements ahead of the meeting, calling for a comprehensive approach to preventing and controlling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and access to healthcare for all.
Home to more than a quarter of the world’s population, the Western Pacific region bears a disproportionate burden of NCDs. Though largely preventable, these diseases were responsible for 12 million deaths in 2019, of which 330 000 were due to chronic kidney disease.
Despite progress in the region, activities tackling NCDs still focus on the four major contributors, namely cancer, heart and lung diseases, and diabetes, and fail to consider the significant burden of other NCDs closely linked to these conditions.
Kidney disease is strongly associated with hypertension and diabetes. It is often overlooked and untreated due to a lack of early detection programs, resulting in inadequate management of hypertension and diabetes.
The ISN continues to call on the WHO and its member states to recognize the synergy between major and other noncommunicable diseases and the need for an integrated approach to tackling them, which leaves no patient behind.
