Noncommunicable diseases (NCD) are not passed from person to person. They are typically of a long duration and progress slowly. The most common NCDs include cardiovascular diseases (such as heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma), and diabetes. NCDs share several common, modifiable risk factors – tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet. Mitigating the effects of these common risk factors is critical to combatting NCDs worldwide.
Quick Facts About NCDs
- NCDs are the leading cause of death worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that NCDs account for 60% (more than 35 million) deaths annually.
- Roughly 80% of NCD related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where fragile health systems often struggle to meet the population’s most basic health needs.
- WHO estimates that 48% of NCD deaths in low- and middle-income countries occur before 70 years of age, compared with 26% in high-income countries.
- In 2012, all United Nations member countries committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025 (the 25 x 25 target).
NCDs Are a Family Matter
The chronic nature of NCDs means patients are sick, suffer longer and require more medical care. Consequently, family members often have to care for loved ones who are unable to work due to illness or disability, resulting in additional lost productivity and wages. In 2011, the World Economic Forum estimated that the combined global economic impact of cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes, and mental health will be more than $47 trillion dollars over the next 20 years.
Our Work
PSI’s growing work in NCDs leverages over four decades of expertise in social marketing, as well as organizational strengths in social franchising, behavior change communications and service delivery.
PSI’s focal NCD health areas are cervical cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes in pregnancy and Type 2 diabetes. We recognize that the NCD spectrum is large and complex; therefore, we encourage our network members to develop NCD interventions aligned with country and region-specific priorities, disease burden, and the local context. Our technical teams work to share lessons learned, case studies and research findings across our network, and outward to the broader community of NCD stakeholders.
Effective prevention and control of NCDs will require sustained engagement across multiple sectors. Globally, our network members engage with policy makers, government leaders, academic institutions and other civil society organizations to increase awareness and shift policy and funding support for NCD control and prevention. PSI is a member of the NCD Roundtable as well as the Task Force on NCDs and Women.
Currently, 10 of our network members offer screening, preventive therapy and referrals for cervical cancer. Pilot diabetes and hypertension screening and treatment programs are underway in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean– two geographic regions that are disproportionately affected by the growing burden of NCDs worldwide.
We are a contributing member of the Task Force on NCDs and Women, and the NCD Roundtable. These initiatives bring together a diverse set of organizations to support increased visibility of NCD-related development issues, share learning and insights across our respective networks, and to improve our program efficiency and impact.
- Diabetes: We focus on prevention and control of diabetes in pregnancy and Type 2 diabetes.
- Hypertension: We improve access to education, screening, diagnosis, and treatment for effective control of hypertension.
- Cervical Cancer: We increase awareness of cervical cancer and improve access to screening, preventative treatment and referrals for women at risk of cervical cancer.
- How PSI Generates Value for Money through Social Investments
This 2-page brief describes the principles of cost-effectiveness, world-class financial management and risk reduction procedures that PSI uses to deliver cost-efficient impact for our partners. - Non-Communicable Disease Life Course Pocket Cards
At the 61st session of the UN"s Commission on the Status of Women, PSI and its partners on the Women and NCDs Task Force promoted a set of pocket cards illustrating a woman's risk for non-communicable diseases over the course of her lifetime. - Insights and Lessons from the Pan American Social Marketing Organization’s (PASMO) Gestational Diabetes Project
Diabetes in pregnancy is a neglected maternal health issue throughout Central America. PASMO is working with private sector health providers across multiple hospitals and satellite clinics in Managua, Nicaragua to offer prenatal clients access to testing, diagnosis and management for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy as part of a broader package of maternal health services. - Translating Best Practices to Next Practices: A White Paper on Promising Practices in Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in India
The burden of diabetes in India is increasing and was 69.2 million in 2015 according to the International Diabetes Federation. Over the last three years, CII-Lilly Non-Communicable Disease Summit has established itself as a strong brand in trying to play the role of a catalyst in improving the management of noncommunicable diseases in India. The current summit is the fourth in the series with the objective of revisiting and reviewing takeaways from the earlier three summits. - National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases: Trinidad and Tobago 2017-2021
The National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases (NSP NCD) outlines the strategic direction for the response to Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Trinidad and Tobago (TTO), and the strategic outcomes that partners from government, private sector, and civil society will be engaged to collaborate towards their achievement over the period 2017-2021. - Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention, and Barriers to Uptake: A Review of the Evidence
This review explores cervical cancer screening methods and the barriers and facilitating factors to uptake of screening and treatment services in developing countries. - Non-Communicable Disease Landscape Analysis Report
- Key Principles to Accelerate Progress in Non-Communicable Disease Care and Treatment
This paper puts forth a set of key principles for NCD program design in low- and middle-income countries. - Integrating Cervical Cancer Screening Within Family Planning Service Provision in Peri-Urban Zambian Setting
In Zambia, cervical cancer (CACX) screening was introduced in 2006. Since then over 189, 000 women have been screened for CACX. While incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer have fallen significantly in developed countries, 83% of all new cases that occur annually and 85% of all deaths from the disease occur in developing countries. Family planning (FP) services in Zambia have traditionally been offered routinely in maternal and child health (MCH) settings. The Society for Family Health (SFH) provides FP services using a dedicated provider model in high volume public sector health facilities since 2008. The model emphasises long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), while assuring method choice. - National White Paper: Synergizing Efforts in Diabetes Care at the Tertiary Level
Every year, roughly 5.8 million Indians die from heart and lung diseases, stroke, cancer and diabetes. In other words, 1 in 4 Indians risks dying from an non-communicable disease (NCD) before they reach the age of 70. In line with WHO’s Global action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs 2013-2020, India is the first country to develop specific national targets and indicators aimed at reducing the number of global premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025.