NCD stands for non-communicable disease, which is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioral factors. Examples of NCDs include Parkinsons disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, most heart diseases, most cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimers disease, cataracts, and others. Most NCDs are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasites life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission.
NCDs disproportionately affect people in low- and middle-income countries, where more than three-quarters of global NCD deaths occur. The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma), and diabetes. Several environmental risk factors contribute to NCDs, including air pollution, which is the largest of these and accounts for 6.7 million deaths globally.
NCDs threaten progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a target of reducing the probability of death from any of the four main NCDs between ages 30 and 70 years by one third by 2030. An important way to control NCDs is to focus on reducing the risk factors associated with these diseases. Low-cost solutions exist for governments and other stakeholders to reduce the common modifiable risk factors.
The WHO provides leadership and the evidence base for international action on surveillance, prevention, and control of NCDs. Urgent government action is needed to meet global targets to reduce the burden of NCDs. Beyond prevention, management of NCDs is critical, including detection, screening, and treatment of the diseases, as well as palliative care for those in need. The vast majority of premature deaths from NCDs occur in low- and middle-income countries, where universal health coverage or access to health care services is often limited.
