Brazzaville, 19 September 2011 --The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, today joined world leaders at the first ever high-level meeting of the United Nations on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) prevention and control which is taking place in New York, from 19-20 September 2011.

The aim of the two-day meeting is for countries to adopt a concise, action-oriented outcome document that identifies priorities for action against NCDs. It also provides an opportunity to raise the priority given to NCDs within the global development agenda.

This is the second time in the history of the UN that the General Assembly is meeting on a health issue. The first such meeting focused on HIV/AIDS in 2001.

A recent WHO report says that Africa, as a region, is reporting more deaths from infectious diseases than NCDs. However, the so-called silent killers are rising rapidly and are projected to exceed communicable diseases, nutritional deficiencies, maternal and childhood conditions combined, as the most common causes of death by 2030. This calls for urgent action now..

The rise in mortality attributable to NCDs reflects epidemiological, nutritional and demographic transitions occurring in the African continent. Some of the other contributory factors are increase in life expectancy, unhealthy lifestyles, poverty, urbanization and globalization.

In April this year, WHO organized a three-day Regional consultation in Brazzaville, Congo, during which countries in the WHO African Region expressed their political commitment to address the growing prevalence of Non communicable diseases by the adoption of the Brazzaville Declaration.