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Ban the promotion, not the production
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Nearly three quarters of all deaths in 2016 were caused by non-communicable diseases, with heart disease related to restricted blood flow -- 9.5 million deaths -- the single biggest killer of all. (Shutterstock/File)
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ast month during a United Nations high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in New York, world leaders agreed to strengthen global and national responses to treat, prevent and control the diseases, including through regulating promotion of unhealthy products.
NCDs are the leading cause of death worldwide, including in Indonesia. These diseases are not caused by infectious agents; they are also chronic and progress slowly. According to the World Health Organization, NCDs including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers, obesity, hypertension and diabetes currently account for the deaths of 41 million people worldwide, or 71 percent of the world’s total deaths.
Indonesia has a similarly high number — NCDs are estimated to be responsible for 73 percent of all deaths nationally. Our most “deadly” NCDs are cardiovascular diseases — such as heart attack and stroke — reaching about 35 percent of NCD deaths, followed by diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases.
Our government’s numerous efforts in curbing NCDs include the comprehensive national action plan on NCDs. The strategy ranges from individual-community empowerment, health system strengthening, national health insurance and strategies on managing conflicts of interest.
