PHM-Exch> Noncommunicable diseases: Let us get involved!

[Alan LEATHER]

Dear All,

While supporting the efforts of the NCD Alliance to push for an
action-orientated outcome to the UN Summit, the Geneva-based NGO Forum for
Health, through its Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support,
is very concerned that mental health is not included on the agenda of the
forthcoming Summit. This is despite the fact that the four most prominent
NCDs and related risk factors all have a mental health component.

Mental health as an NCD receives the least amount of recognition and
funding. It has a direct impact upon the most vulnerable in society, whose
rights are constantly overlooked or denied. Care and support should be
available through primary health care as stated in the recent WHO and World
Organisation for Family Doctors report,* Integrating mental health into
primary health care: a global perspective.

*Health workers involved in the care and support of the mentally ill know
full well what it means to them and their patients to have a global summit
recognise their concerns. Their work burden grows unremittingly, leaving
many stressed and burnt out.
*
*As stated in the Medicus Mundi announcement, the forthcoming WHO EB is an
important opportunity to give support to the NCD Summit. We would urge those
involved to lobby hard for mental health to be included on the Summit agenda
otherwise a vital aspect of health for all will once again be lost.

In solidarity

Alan Leather

On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 6:12 PM, Claudio Schuftan
<cschuftan at phmovement.org>wrote:

>
> From: MMI Executive Secretariat <office at medicusmundi.org>
>
>
> It is increasingly recognized that noncommunicable diseases are “the
> leading cause of death and disability worldwide and will cause over three
> quarters of all deaths in 2030”. NCDs are a result of poverty -
> disproportionately affecting lower and middle income countries and the
> poorer segments of all societies - but also lead families and countries into
> poverty. In May 2010, the UN resolution 64/265 was passed to organize a UN
> Summit with focus on the “four most prominent non-communicable diseases,
> namely, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and
> diabetes”, and the “common risk factors of tobacco use, alcohol abuse,
> unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and environmental carcinogens”. With
> good attendance of heads of government and states, the Summit scheduled for
> September 2011 should lead to global and country commitments for a
> coordinated and multi-sectoral response and measurable targets.
>
>
>
> The NCD Alliance is pushing for an action-oriented outcome statement that
> includes the following key points:
>
>
>
> •          Governments to be accountable and measured on NCD plans
>
> •          Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to be fully
> implemented
>
> •          A global commitment to prevention of NCDs
>
> •          Globally agreed-upon approaches to NCD treatment and care
>
> •          Resources to deliver NCD interventions
>
> •          A commitment to include NCDs in the MDG successor goals
>
> •          No separate financing mechanism, but a full integration of NCDs
> into health promotion, prevention, and service delivery, as well as
> inclusion of NCD concerns into relevant sectors of society
>
>
>
> Key events leading up to the UN Summit are mainly the WHO EB meeting in
> January, the regional WHO meetings in February, a Ministerial Conference on
> NCDs in Moscow, in April, and the World Health Assembly in May 2011. In
> addition, the President of the UN General Assembly is considering a civil
> society task force or advisory committee for the Summit.
>
>
>
> Civil society efforts to prepare for the UN Summit have been driven by the
> NCD Alliance and its member organizations, providing a disease-specific
> perspective. It is crucial that civil society organizations involved in
> international health cooperation (“Health NGOs”) and advocating for the
> right to health become fully engaged. They contribute different, but
> essential experiences, such as:
>
>
>
> •          NCDs face similar myths of “blaming the victims” that have been
> addressed by NGOs working on HIV, human rights, and gender issues
>
> •          WHO is strongly promoting addressing NCDs at the community and
> primary care level. This is where our organizations can bring a wealth of
> expertise
>
> •          Many NGOs are involved in health systems strengthening efforts
> and can develop or may already have innovative approaches and solutions to
> integrate NCDs
>
> •          Integration of NCDs will require a strong and competent health
> workforce, an issue addressed by the Medicus Mundi International Network.
>
>
>
> Therefore, I recommend to interested organizations
>
>
>
> •          To share and show-case their positions and activities related
> to NCD integration in primary health care and national health systems and
> contribute to national and global advocacy efforts
>
> •          To consider becoming a member of the “Common Interest Group”
> (CIG) of the NCD Alliance (www.ncdalliance.org/cig) and to promote within
> this group a broad, systemic approach to NCDs
>
> •          To join country and regional alliances that are emerging in
> preparation for the UN Summit and advocate for the full integration of civil
> societies into country delegations to the summit, including non-disease
> specific NGOs working at the community level, with hospitals, businesses,
> schools, in agriculture, gender, human rights, etc.
>
>
>
> As stated eloquently by Sir George Alleyne, former Director of PAHO, who
> gave a presentation during the CIG teleconference, the UN Summit is an
> occasion for governments to coalesce on an issue that concerns all, and it
> is only the second time that such a meeting has placed health concerns on
> the world stage. He urges us all to be bold in the demands we make from
> world leaders and to avoid disease divisiveness in our efforts.
>
>  Bettina Schwethelm, Medicus Mundi Switzerland,
> bsch at partnershipsinhealth.ch
>
> Editorial in: MMI Network News, December 2010,
> http://bit.ly/mmidecember2010
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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