Chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease and diabetes (sukkersyge) cause more deaths than all other diseases combined, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.
In its Global status report on non-communicable (ikke-smitsomme) diseases (NCDs) WHO said such diseases had reached epidemic proportions and now pose a greater threat than infectious diseases like malaria, HIV and tuberculosis (TB).
NCDs, which include heart disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory conditions (luftvejslidelser), accounted for 36 million, or 63 percent, of the 57 million deaths worldwide in 2008.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan said:
– The rise of chronic non-communicable diseases presents an enormous challenge…. For some countries, it is no exaggeration to describe the situation as an impending (tikkende) disaster; a disaster for health, for society, and most of all for national economies.
– Chronic non-communicable diseases deliver a two-punch blow to development. They cause billions of dollars in losses of national income, and they push millions of people below the poverty line, each and every year.
The WHO said many of the deaths could be prevented by introducing policies such as promoting healthier diets and stronger smoking legislation.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
