UN General Assembly to tackle control and prevention of diseases

Accra, Sept. 12, GNA - The control and prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) world-wide is a major issue to be tackled at the 66th Session of United Nations General Assembly.

Other issues are High Level Meeting on Nutrition and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement linked to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 1( eradicating poverty and hunger).

Member States, including Ghana, would therefore highlight the linkages between under-nutrition and chronic diseases. The meeting would focus on the first year of progress in SUN countries, and plans and commitments for the future.

The NCDs are non-transmissible diseases of long duration and slow progression.

Cardio-Vascular (Heart Attacks, Stroke), Cancer and Chronic Respiratory Diseases (Asthma) and Diabetes would be the main focus since they cause 63 per cent of all global deaths and known to kill people before age 70.

Other activities are high-level meeting on the Durban Declaration and Programme for Action (DDPA), adopted in 2001 to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

It would concentrate on the implementation of commitments to fight discrimination over the last decade.

A general assembly debate on the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) implementation would be held in the wider context of MDG 8 to assess how commitments are being met on aid, trade, debt relief, access to essential medicines and closing the digital divide between north and south.

The 2011 MDG gap task force, which focuses on implementation of Goal 8, would be launched on September 16.

Others are high level meeting on forests and desertification.

Mrs Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Ghana, announced this at a media briefing in Accra on the forthcoming 66th Session of UN General Assembly scheduled at UN Headquarters in New York from September 13-30.

She noted that these diseases could be prevented if issues on lifestyles such as tobacco usage, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol were tackled, especially as 90 per cent of these NCDs occurred in low and middle income countries.

"There are many preventive measures that can be undertaken including better access to NCD treatment and care in all countries, investment in strong health systems and a robust health financing systems," she added.

Mrs Sandhu-Rojon said promoting healthy lifestyles and prevention of NCDs was an important pillar of Ghana's National Health Policy of 2007, and the UN system was supporting the study of NCD burden and its risk factors.

Others are the development of a national policy on these diseases as well as the implementation of International Convention on Tobacco Control.

The UN is also supporting government to develop a National Alcohol Policy.

Mrs Sandhu-Rojon called for strong political commitment, advocacy and inter-sectoral collaboration to control NCDs in Ghana.

She said world-wide, about one billion people were affected by food insecurity and 171 million children were chronically undernourished; which impaired their intellectual, physical, social skills and precipitated NCDs in future.

"Though prevalence of underweight, wasting and stunting growth among young children in Ghana is significantly lower compared to most West African countries, child growth has not improved substantially over the past decade with the exception of underweight.

"There are also substantial disparities within the country with Eastern, Central, Northern And Upper East Regions recording the highest rates of stunted growth" Mrs Sandhu-Rojon stated.

Mrs Sandhu-Rojon urged the media to play their role in informing and educating the general public on events and the outcome of these meetings.

He said that partnership with the media was critical for the UN to bring global issues to the fore and ensure that the public could follow-up and prompt government on implementation of measures to respond to challenges worldwide and locally.

Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said the general debate was the most important part of the annual session as it would afford Ghana and other Member States the opportunity to discuss global issues, exchange views, express concerns and make appeals and proposals on relevant issues.

He stated that commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of DDPA on September 22, on the theme 93Victims of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance: Recognition, Justice and Development" was an important feature of the 66th Session especially as racial discrimination in all its forms still persisted in all parts of the world.

"Indeed the declaration of 2011 as International Year for People of African Descent' is an indication that victims identified in the DDPA continue to suffer racial discrimination.

This constitutes an affront to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the UN and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," he added.

Alhaji Mumuni called on Member States to regard the 10th anniversary celebration as an opportunity to strengthen political commitment to fighting racism and racial discrimination.

He expressed Ghana's support for the proposed initiative in the draft outcome document to erect a permanent memorial to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.

"We remain confident that effective implementation of the outcome document will help promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in all societies.

Dr Jacques Diouf, Out-going Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), would address the impact of high and volatile food prices on nutrition in Africa, what kinds of long-term investments in food security yield nutritional outcomes and the comprehensive responses to the crisis in the Horn of Africa.

The SUN movement was launched in September 2010 and supports efforts in 18 countries to reduce malnutrition.

It would be launched in Ghana in November 2011 and undertaken by all relevant stakeholders under the coordination of National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and Ghana Health Service (GHS).

It is being supported by a joint UN initiative, Renewed Efforts Against Child Hunger (REACH), which coordinates efforts of World Food Programme, World Health Organisation, United Nations International Children's Fund and FAO.

The 66th Session would be presided over by Mr Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, a veteran diplomat and permanent representative of Qatar to the UN.