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UN High Level Meeting on NCDs - 19-20 September 2011

30 November 2011

A very important meeting convened by the World Health Organisation and United Nations was held on the 19th and 20th September 2011. The meeting, attended by Heads of State, served to highlight the importance of non-communicable diseases as the major cause of death and disability in the world, both in developing and developed countries. Salt reduction has been shown to be one of the most cost-effective ways of tackling the NCD crisis by lowering blood pressure and therefore reducing deaths from strokes and heart disease.

Salt reduction is directed towards the whole population and will have the greatest benefits as most people will be exposed to the positive effects and the cost of implementation is very low.

Supporting salt reduction is a great opportunity for your government to play a prominent role in reducing NCDs. High-level political commitments to priority actions – such as salt reduction -are required globally and nationally to both treat and prevent NCDs. The priority interventions chosen for immediate attention will need to have a substantial impact on health, strong evidence for cost-effectiveness; low cost of implementation; and political and financial feasibility for scale-up.

See: United Nations webcast



 

 

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