Public Policy and the Challenge of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases

The importance of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health has gained increased recognition since the early 1990s. This report is an Agenda for Action in response to the growing economic, social and health problems posed by NCDs. Its objective is to enable the World Bank and its clients to examine and, where appropriate, make a strategic shift in their approach to public policy as a tool for the prevention and control of NCDs. The report highlights two broad themes. First, there is a need for public policies to prevent NCDs to the greatest extent possible, and in doing so promote healthy aging and avoid premature deaths. Second, there is a concurrent need to recognize that there will be an increase in the burden of NCDs due to population aging, and thus public policy has a role to play in dealing with the pressures that this will impose on health services. Therefore, the report has a dual purview: how to avoid the burden of NCDs as much as possible, and recognition of the need to prepare for the consequences of more NCDs associated with demographic change.