UN convenes summit on non-communicable diseases

11.03.2011 17:14

Around 7.4 million deaths from cancer worldwide - the Cancer Society calls on the Federal Government to actively participate in shaping this.

Around 35 million people worldwide die every year from noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease and cancer. That's around 60 % of all annual deaths. Due to age, this proportion is constantly increasing. Cancer alone is responsible for over 7.4 million deaths (13% of all deaths). According to WHO estimates, more people die from cancer each year than from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. In order to counteract this trend, the UN General Assembly has now convened a health policy summit on the topic of “non-communicable diseases” in September 2011 in New York. The aim should be to develop effective strategies to combat the constant increase in deaths from non-communicable diseases. “Due to the age-related increase in non-communicable diseases, the course for the future must be set now. This is the only way an effective prevention policy against diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer can be sustainable,” explains Dr. Johannes Bruns, Secretary General of the German Cancer Society.

Because: Experts estimate that a third of all cancer deaths could be avoided through a healthy lifestyle and another third through effective early detection examinations. “Politics is needed here!” demands the Secretary General. The German Cancer Society is now calling on the federal government to actively participate in the UN summit in order to be able to incorporate the experiences from the National Cancer Plan in Germany. “We have achieved important successes in combating cancer in Germany that should be pointed out,” said Bruns. Background: The German Cancer Society represents Germany in the UICC (Union of International Cancer Control). The UICC is the leading global resource for cancer activities with more than 300 member organizations in Africa, North, Central and South America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. In preparation for the UN summit, a German alliance of the key organizations in the field came together on the initiative of diabetesDE: diabetesDE, German Cancer Aid, German Society for Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine and the German Cancer Society.