2019 UCL Lancet Lecture by Dr Rachel Nugent
NCDs as a global emergency
More than 70% of global health deaths are caused by NCDs (Noncommunicable diseases) which have been estimated to impose a $47 trillion burden on developing country GDP by 2030. Like pandemics, NCDs are usually preventable. Like climate change, NCDs require a multi-sectoral response. Like both, NCDs are largely a human-caused problem. It is clear that without dramatic new intervention the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to reduce premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030 will fail. This lecture claims that NCDs are a solvable problem and describes plausible scenarios for reversing NCD burden and achieving health and economic gains. It should be feasible for every country in the world to conquer NCDs in an ethical, sustainable and affordable manner.
Dr Rachel Nugent is Vice President for Global Non-communicable Diseases at RTI International and affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington. She leads a global initiative to prevent and reduce the health and economic burdens of chronic non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries. Prior to this position, Rachel was Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington and Director of the Disease Control Priorities Network. She has advised the WHO, the U.S. Government, and non-profit organizations on the economics and policy environment of NCDs. In 2018, she led The Lancet Task Force on NCDs and Economics and served on the U.S. National Academy of Medicine Committee on Global Obesity.
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The UCL Lancet lecture is an annual global health event open to the public, co-hosted by UCL Grand Challenges, UCL Institute for Global Health, and The Lancet.
For further information please visit:
UCL Grand Challenges
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