The first Global Week for Action on NCDs – from Monday 3 September to Sunday 9 September 2018 – is a global opportunity to talk about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and what needs to change to improve people’s health.

The week is launched in light of the ENOUGH campaign initiated by the global NCD Alliance, building towards the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs on 27 September in New York.

NCDs In The EU 

• Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region.
• EU countries spend nearly 10% of GDP on healthcare. Up to 80% of this spending goes towards the treatment of NCDs, amounting to around €700 billion per year. (source). 
• In 2013, 550.000 people between the age of 25 and 64 died from NCDs in the EU. Deaths from NCDs represent a loss of €115 billion, or 0.8% of GDP per year for the EU economy (source).
• People with NCDs suffer from reduced productivity, reduced employment, earlier retirement, and lower income, with major macro- and micro-economic consequences for work, economic development and prosperity. (source). 

One Action Per Day

There are 4 main preventable risk factors to NCDs: tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and the harmful use of alcohol. Air pollution is also a leading contributor to NCDs.

The European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA) and European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) highlight one effective action per day during the week that can tackle each risk factor:

• Day 1 – Soda Tax Works
• Day 2 – Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol Saves Lives
• Day 3 – Tobacco Taxation: Cost-effective Solution
• Day 4 – Better urban planning to get everyone moving 
• Day 5 – No future for diesel in cities