By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Global Burden of NCDs – Our Future Public Health Legacy?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > The Global Burden of NCDs – Our Future Public Health Legacy?
Global Healthcare

The Global Burden of NCDs – Our Future Public Health Legacy?

KennethThorpe
KennethThorpe
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE


How do you measure the toll of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like lung diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer?


How do you measure the toll of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like lung diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer?

More Read

what are pulmonary diseases
Dr. James Murtagh Tackles Pulmonary and Other Diseases
How AI Is Reshaping Medical Manufacturing
Market for Obesity Products in India
Exploring the Crucial Role of a CNA in Healthcare
HIPAA Basics For Licensed Health Care Professionals: Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules

In September, New York hosted the United Nations summit on NCDs. Just before the New York event, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a study of the global cost of NCDs. It tabulated that five major NCDs – cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes and mental ill-health – could cost the world US$ 47 trillion between now and 2030. Take CVD alone. In 2010, CVD cost the world US$ 863 billion. By 2030, this is likely to rise to US$ 1.04 trillion.

Those are serious numbers. However, to families and friends of loved ones who succumb to these diseases, personal loss is immeasurable. Beyond the personal loss is the economic impact that premature deaths from these diseases can have on the economy and on businesses.

A hundred years ago, a major business corporation would have considered a tuberculosis outbreak or a Spanish influenza type epidemic its number one public health fear. Left unchecked, such an epidemic could have devastated a major manufacturing facility, sending hundreds of workers to hospital, if not killing them and could have a profound impact on that enterprise.

Perhaps equal in its impact is the loss of just one creative genius behind an innovative global enterprise that leaves the world without untold or unimagined technological advances that can change our lives.

This past month, one of the world’s leading technology companies lost its inspirational founder and creative genius to cancer. Losing Steve Jobs to cancer is a tragedy for his friends and family but losing the genius of Steve Jobs is a loss to the world and underscores the unacceptable toll from largely preventable non-communicable diseases.

Steve Jobs left his mark on the world but perhaps his unfortunate and untimely passing will also serve to bring into focus the societal impacts of non-communicable disease, the prevention imperative, and the need for early testing and diagnosis.

It has been just a month, since New York hosted the United Nations summit on NCDs. This was only the second UN meeting of this size devoted to a health issue. The previous one, in 2001, lead to the creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. What will be the legacy of the NCDs summit of 2011? And will greater awareness of the premature loss of creative geniuses like Steve Jobs contribute to that legacy? 

October 19, 2011
By Ashok Malik

Ashok Malik is a journalist writing primarily on public policy.  Ashok is based in Delhi India and his columns and articles have appeared in several newspapers over the last 20 years.

TAGGED:NCDsnon-communicable diseases
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

contamination
Batch Failures And The Hidden Costs Of Contamination
Health Infographics
October 21, 2025
Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025
Guide To Pursuing a Career in Nursing as a Foreigner in the USA
Collaboration Is the Prescription for Better Patient Care
Health
October 20, 2025
Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Not One War on Cancer, Millions

August 10, 2011
typhoon haiyan displaces people
Global HealthcareNewsPublic Health

Pneumonia After Typhoon Haiyan: 4.3 Million Vulnerable to Illness

November 27, 2013

The New Bottom Billion: Implications for GAVI?

April 28, 2011
come up with a HIPAA compliance plan
Global HealthcarePolicy & Law

What Every Business Needs To Know About HIPAA Compliance

October 27, 2022
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?