NUPPRE

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer account for over 70% of all deaths, of which nearly half are in people younger than 60 years. In 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals committed countries to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by a third relative by 2030. Since then, The Lancet has published several major initiatives to ensure the best evidence is at the heart of policies to reduce the global burden of NCDs.

In September, The Lancet published two new initiatives–a Commission exploring the relation between poverty and NCDs, and the NCD Countdown tracking progress against global commitments on NCDs. In addition, we also published the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 special edition of The Lancet in October. The GBD Study shows that NCDs account for three of the five top causes of disease burden, with ischaemic heart disease and stroke the second and third highest causes, respectively.

Today, as COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over one million people worldwide, the pandemic has shown the crucial relation between communicable diseases and NCDs. One in five people are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 should they become infected, mostly as a result of underlying NCDs. The enormous efforts to deal with COVID-19 have also disrupted the regular care often required by patients with NCDs. COVID-19 and NCDs form a dangerous relationship, experienced as a syndemic that is exacerbating social and economic inequalities.