Consultative meeting on WHO Noncommunicable disease strategic plan (2011-2015) gets underway in Brazzaville

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Brazzaville, 2 December 2010 -- Noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc are on the rise in the African Region. In a bid to stem this tide, the World Health Organization has begun a three-day consultative meeting on the Strategic Plan of the Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control (NPC) Programme for the WHO African Region for the period 2011-2015 in Brazzaville.

The meeting brings together experts in cardiology; ophthalmology; Oral Health and Maxillo-facial surgery; Dental and Craniofacial research; and specialists in pediatrics and medical genetics, among others.

These external consultants are joined in the three-day meeting by WHO Regional Office experts in NPC; Violence and Injury Prevention; Substance Abuse; Mental Health; Integrated Disease Surveillance; Cancer; Health Promotion, as well as the Programme Managers for Resource Mobilization and the African Health Observatory.

The general objective of the consultative meeting is to contribute to the development of the NPC Strategic Plan for the WHO African Region for the period 2011-2015.

The meeting’s specific objectives are to: provide an update on the situation of noncommunicable diseases in the African Region, including lessons learnt and opportunities; discuss strategic interventions and synergistic and integrated actions within the NPC programme; examine the draft NPC strategic plan for 2011-2015, and agree on the next steps and ways forward.

Currently, the NPC programme in the Region has five major components. These are cancer and chronic respiratory disease prevention and control; diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention and control; Dental and Oral Health and Noma; Genetic Disease Disorders, Sickle cell disease, and Ear and Eye Health.

For more information, please contact:

Technical contact:

Dr Hama Boureima-Sambo; WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville;
Tel. + 47 241 39372;
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Media contact:

Samuel T. Ajibola, WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville;
Tel: (+242) 7700202; + 41 241 39378;
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