ACC CEO Jack Lewin, MD, and President-Elect William Zoghbi, MD, FACC, Discuss the UN Summit: A Video Collaboration With Medscape
The United Nations (UN) hosted a two-day Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) from Sept. 19-20 that concentrated on four major areas: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease.
The ACC has long-lobbied for NCDs, in particular cardiovascular disease, to be included in UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, which in the past have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world's poorest. Inclusion in the Millennium Development Goals would allow for substantial more funding for NCDs, which currently only receive only 3 percent of global funding, while accounting for 60 percent of global mortality.
The summit, only the second of its kind, served as a starting point in terms of facilitating progress on NCDs and developing a global roadmap for strengthening health care systems and promoting healthy lifestyles in a way that is both impactful and cost-effective. The commitments unanimously agreed to at the summit include increased resources for NCDs through domestic, bilateral and multilateral channels; establishment of multi-sector national NCD policies and plans by 2013; development of a global monitoring framework by the end of 2012; and comprehensive review and assessment of global efforts by 2014. Visit the UN's website to read the full resolution made at the summit.
Unfortunately, the summit did not include any concrete commitments in terms of funding sources and time-bound global targets or indicators. Coming out of the conference, the College plans to work closely with global health leaders, as well as others in the US health care community, to take the discussions started at the Summit into something more actionable.
A member of the Partner’s Group of the NCD Alliance, the ACC worked with a multitude of organizations around the summit, including the World Heart Federation and Global Health Council.
Highlights
-
View Photos from the Summit on the "ACC in Touch" Facebook page!
-
Chris Cannon, MD, FACC, Comments on the UN Summit on NCDs on CardioSource Video News
-
Galvanizing Global Support for Non-Communicable Diseases
In Touch Blog Post by President-Elect William Zoghbi, MD, FACC
-
Should CVD Be at the Top of the Global Public Health Agenda?
Forum Post by Past ACC President Ralph Brindis, MD, MPH, MACC
-
"Accelerating Progress on Non-Communicable Diseases," The Lancet
Editorial Co-Authored by ACC President David Holmes, Jr., MD, FACC