Lifestyle-related diseases toll 35 million
The Department of Health disclosed that every year, 35 million deaths globally are caused by Non-Communicable Diseases or NCD.
Dr. Ariel I. Valencia, OIC-Regional Director of Department of Health in Western Visayas said that NCD diseases are cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or CVD and chronic obstructure pulmonary diseases or COPD.
Valencia said that around 80 percent of these diseases occur in low and middle income countries, including the Philippines.
“The World Health Organization aims to reduce death toll from NCD by two percent yearly until 2015,” Valencia said.
He further said that the DOH under the leadership of Secretary Francisco Duque III, will implement “Healthy Lifestyle to the Max” as part of the DOH Fourmula One Foundation Campaign for 2009.
Valencia said that one of the activities of the DOH here to strengthen the Healthy Lifestyle is to conduct information dissemination through tri-media.
“The Healthy Lifestyle campaign will focus on the risk factors and not diseases, so there is a need to raise people’s awareness to adopt a healthy lifestyle thus reducing deaths due to chronic diseases,” the DOH 6 OIC-Director disclosed. (PIA6/T.Villavert)