Total of 10 Credits (IDI Accreditation)

International Symposium on Research, Policy & Action
to Reduce the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases

Faculty of Medicine, Gadjah Mada University,
Yogyakarta, 26-27 September 2013

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is continuosly increasing. Of 52,8 million deaths in 2012, 34,5 million could be attributed to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)—65%. (Lozano et al 2012). In the same year, 54% of disability-adjusted life years worldwide were caused by NCDs, compared with only 43% in 1990.It is anticipated that mortality and morbidity due to NCDs will only increase during the next five to 25 years; in some regions, such as Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region (APR), the burden of NCDs will be higher than in others. In East Asia and the Pacific, it is projected that NCDs will account for up to 80 percent of all deaths and 40 per cent of all morbidity by 2030 (WHO 2011).

The need to address this rising burden of disease is increasingly being acknowledged internationally, as reflected by UN General Assembly's 2011 political declaration on the prevention and control of NCDs. In 2012, the World Health Assembly endorsed as animportant new health goal: to reduce avoidablemortality from NCDs by25% by 2025 (the 25 by 25 goal). In 2012, the UN conference on sustainable development,Rio+20, also referred to non-communicable diseases(NCDs) as "one of the major challenges for sustainabledevelopment in the 21st century", emphasising thefundamental link between health and development.

Despite global resolutions and rhetoric , chronic NCDs remain the least recognised group of conditions that threaten the future of human health and wellbeing (Horton 2013).Countries in Southeast Asia for instance have spent very little resources addressing the major health and development issue of chronic non-communicabledisease(Dans et al 2011).Many of these countries, including Indonesia, are still trying to cope with old infectious diseases as well as new and emerging infections. If neglected, however, chronic non-communicable diseases could threaten national development and ultimately jeopardize the capacity of nations to respond to health needs at large. Therefore, acomprehensive and coherent non-communicable disease programme cannot await control of communicable diseases. Both must take place at the same time.

A sustainable and effective national programme for prevention and control of NCDs needs to be championed by well informed leaders (Dans et al 2011). Leadership has to come not only from the health sector, but also from other sectors, including lawmakers and heads of local government. Civil societies should play a major role in holding governments accountable for delivering on non-communicable disease commitments. As epidemiological and scientific understanding of NCDs evolves, it is essential that theresearch community responsible for producing and publishing research findings, work hard to ensurethat their implications are understood and acted upon by policy makers and politicians alike.

Symposium Programme