ABSTRACT
Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer are reaching global epidemic proportions even amongst younger populations, and now not only in developed countries but also in low-and middle-income countries. For example, the longer-term pathology of chronic heart disease – related to lack of exercise and fat/sugar/salt-loaded diets – places a burden on society and its healthcare systems, causing early mortality and long-term morbidity in the community. The current relentless epidemic of obesity shows we have yet to be truly effective in our efforts to halt the rising tide of NCDs. The solution lies not only in individuals making changes to their lifestyles but in actions taken by local communities, national governments and global communities. Approaches described in the Alma Ata declaration of 1978 have been refi ned through iteration of the Ottawa and Bangkok charters and most recently the Health in All Policies (HiAPs) approach. This approach emphasizes that, since health is determined to a large extent by factors outside the health arena, an effective health policy must involve all relevant policy areas, in particular social and regional policy, taxation, environment, education and research. In 2013, the World Health Assembly (WHA) agreed a global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013-2020 [1]. Based on the vision of creating a world free of the avoidable burden of NCDs, targets based on the overarching principles of values and global public health approaches have been established, as summarized in Figure V.1.
