Global Policies on Control and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases

NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASE
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Non communicable diseases (NCDs) refers to various diseases not caused by specific disease
causing agents such as bacteria that are responsible of transferring disease from one person to
another (Waxman, 2005). NCDs are therefore not passed on readily from one person to another.
Majority of the NCDs take long to mature and progress. The most common NCDs according to
the United Nations are cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, diabetes, respiratory diseases
such as asthma, various types of cancer especially those whose risk factors are tobacco and
alcohol. The non-communicable diseases also extends to include disabilities which are
categorized into muscoskeletal, neurovascular and mental illnesses such as dementia. Formation
and enforcement of public policies is one of the ways in which the NCDs can be controlled. This
paper provides a review of the global policies on the control and prevention of NCDs over the
last decade.
Formation of policies to prevent and manage the NCDs is important in harnessing the efforts to
control the diseases from several actors within a society. This is possible since the policy ensures
a specific focus objective towards which all efforts are geared. The policy is therefore used to
address the various risk factors that predispose a certain society to the various NCDs. Formation
of a policy also ensures that the objective is feasible with the specific population and that it also
takes into account the fact that there are high risk groups within the same community. Public
health policies also helps governments to make legislation that controls and regulates risk factors
such as tobacco and alcohol among others. Lastly, the policies formed are also important in
ensuring that the NCDs are prevention and control is done in the most cost effective way holds
Collins, et al 2013.
NCDs account for most deaths especially among the developed countries. This has burdened the
health sector in these countries and the NCDs have therefore posed serious threats to

development. The fact that these diseases are preventable has raised concern on the essence of
actors outside the health realm to develop strategies that can help to prevent these diseases thus
reducing their prevalence rates. The major risk factors of these diseases include drug abuse and
addiction, lack of proper diet and a sedentary lifestyle devoid of physical exercise. While
countries are charged with formation of national policies and laws to prevent their nationals, the
international actors such as the world health organization have also developed various multi
sectoral publications that help in the continued fight to evict out these diseases.
Hawkes, and Popkin, 2015 the formation and implementation of NCD policies have faced
various challenges all over the world. Most of these challenges have been triggered by the
unequal distribution of risk factors in the various parts of the world, varied economic potential
where many poor countries have been unable to live to the standards of these policies. In some
other developed and developing countries, there has been conflict of interest where countries
have placed national goals over NCD policies and goals. In addition, due to the fact that there is
no policy that fits all countries and all sectors of the world, several states have encountered
challenges in developing and sustaining policies that help in elimination of NCDs.
WHO and other international actors have over the last decade convened meetings and
conventions to create awareness on the prevalence rates and impacts of NCDs on the economic
progress and social integration of various countries. As a result of these meetings, various
international policies to address these diseases have been formulated. For instance in 2011,
several European heads of state met and made a declaration of making policies and plans to
address these diseases. The heads of state and their representatives also committed themselves to
empower the existing policies. Following this declaration, the leaders reaffirmed their

commitment to the declaration in June 2014 to make efforts to control NCDs not only in the
European region but also in the rest of the world argues Yusuf, Wood, Ralston, and Reddy, 2015.
The control and prevention of NCD policies have mainly advocated for multi sectoral approach.
Among the major sectors that the policies have focused on are tobacco use, lack of physical
activity, alcohol abuse and unhealthy diet. Various international, transnational and regional
organizations have undertaken efforts to ensure that the risk factors in all these sectors are
addressed. In a bid to address physical inactivity the World Confederation for Physical Therapy
(WCPT) has made significant efforts in policy formulation to prevent and control NCDs in the
world. WCPT has made recommendations regarding physical therapy to assist in the fight
against NCDs, related deaths and disability (Glasgow, and Schrecker, 2016).
WCPT supports the fight against NCDs on the basis that the diseases impacts a heavy burden or
families, nations and societies struggling to fight the NCDs. In addition, NCDs have overly been
recognized to have profound impacts on almost all countries all over the world. Lastly WCPT
recognizes that the prevention of these diseases helps to decrease the severity and the prevalence.
WCPT therefore urges organizations and governments to formulate and enforce policies that
encourage physical exercise as it is a cheap way to control the risk factors of these diseases
(Stewart, and Wild, 2017).
WCPT through the May 2015 general meeting and several other policies and guidelines has also
been in the forefront to champion for enough resources to be set aside to support physical
therapies that can help to combat NCDs (Pearce, et al 2015). In addition, equal opportunities and
rights to physical therapy for all including the mentally impaired and advocating for policies that
empower the general population to make right decisions regarding the fight against NCDs.