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Istituto Superiore di Sanità
EpiCentro - L'epidemiologia per la sanità pubblica
Istituto Superiore di Sanità - EpiCentro

UN declaration on Noncommunicable disease, 2011

For the second time in the history of the UN, the General Assembly meets on a health issue (New York, 19th-20 september 2011). The aim is for countries to adopt a concise, action-oriented outcome document that will shape the global agendas for generations to come. Noncommunicable diseases - or NCDs - like heart attacks and strokes, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease account for over 63% of deaths in the world today. Every year, NCDs kill 9 million people under 60. The socio-economic impact is staggering. Visit the WHO site and read the document “Political declaration adopted at the UN General Assembly - 18 September 2011” (pdf 68 kb)

 

UN resolution on diabetes, 2006

 

The ‘Unite or Diabetes’ campaign, led by IDF President and heavily supported by our member associations, aimed to raise awareness of diabetes and secure a United Nations Resolution on the disease. After a campaign of just six months, the UN passed Resolution 61/225 in December 2006, affirming diabetes as a major global health threat. The UNR 61/225 was the first time that governments passed a Resolution on a non-communicable disease, paving the way for the UN Summit on NCDs.

 

The UN Resolution on Diabetes:

  • recognises diabetes as “a chronic, debilitating and costly disease associated with severe complications, which poses severe risks for families, Member States and the entire world.”
  • states that diabetes poses serious challenges for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
  • designates World Diabetes Day – the 14 November – as an official United Nations Day, to be observed every year beginning in 2007.
  • encourages governments to develop national policies for diabetes prevention, treatment and care.