BRASILIA, (CMC) – Director of the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) – Dr Jarbas Barbosa, is calling for Caribbean and other countries to urgently address the key drivers of mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that he says continue to take around six million lives each year in the Americas.

“Over 240 million people in the Americas are living with NCDs and require continuous treatment, most of which can be provided through primary health care,” said Barbosa in addressing the Regional Meeting on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control, held here.

“However, many people do not receive adequate care or succumb to their illness due to poor management and control,” he lamented, adding that “the economic dimensions of NCDs are also staggering”.

Barbosa said while further studies are needed to determine the regional impact, current projections show that, in 10 countries of South America, NCDs and mental health conditions are expected to result in combined economic losses totaling US $7.3 trillion by 2050, equivalent to 4 per cent of the sub-region’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“The good news is that we have the knowledge and tools to prevent and control NCDs,” Barbosa said.

These include the NCD “best buys” – cost-effective policies and health interventions, such as raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol; implementing front-of-package food labeling; offering vaccination against Human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer, to girls under the age of 15; and providing treatment for hypertension and diabetes, among others.

“Many of these interventions are already being implemented in our countries but we must urgently scale up and accelerate their implementation and provide quality health care to all of those affected,” he stressed.

While premature mortality from NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes and cancers, has dropped in the Americas, including the Caribbean, over the past decade, from 15.2 per cent in 2010 to 14 per cent in 2021, the PAHO director said just five countries of the region are on track to reach the global target of a 25 per cent reduction in premature mortality rate from NCDs by 2025, known as the 25×25 target.

The meeting, which convened PAHO experts, heads of national NCD programmes and civil society, focused on key priorities for accelerating progress towards 25×25 in advance of the 4th United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2025.

PAHO said these include: increasing investment and strengthening leadership in NCD prevention, policies to address risk factors, and health services; expanding access to primary health care to improve diagnosis, treatment and coverage; and promoting policy coherence across government sectors beyond health, including establishing multisectoral NCD commissions to address the issue holistically.

PAHO said it continues to work with countries of the Americas to prevent and address NCDs, which are the number one cause of death and disability, both in the region and globally.

To accelerate this work, in 2023 the PAHO director launched the ‘Better Care for NCDs’ initiative, which aims to expand equitable access to integrated and comprehensive NCD services within primary health care in the Americas.

“I encourage you to join forces with PAHO to implement this important initiative,” Barbosa urged.

“Working collaboratively, we can make significant strides to achieve the NCD targets and improve the health and wellbeing of the people of the Americas,” he remarked.