American Heart Association Praises Council on Foreign Relations' Call to Action on Non-Communicable Diseases

Washington, D.C., Dec, 4, 2014 — The American Heart Association applauded a new report,“The Emerging Global Health Crisis, Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” released today by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and called on the global community to take immediate action.

The report by a CFR task force points to a pressing need to address the skyrocketing rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among younger populations in many low- and middle-income countries. The factors fueling this “tsunami of NCDs” are occurring so fast that developing countries are ill-prepared or lack the capacity to build responsive health and regulatory systems.

“As this report clearly reinforces, collective action is essential if we are to slow the rising tide of NCDs. It’s time for the United States and its global partners to act,” said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown.

“Put together by some of the best minds from the private and public health sectors, the document makes a thorough and concise argument for elevating our commitment to finding innovate solutions to this emerging crisis. The council deserves high praise for making this issue one of their top priorities.

“Since the 2011 U.N. Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases, the association has been actively doing its part to counter this global health crisis. Through science and public health leadership, and collaborations with country partners we have leveraged more than 85 years of experience and best practices to develop tools, resources, and personnel to tackle this epidemic and its worsening patient outcomes. The evidence provided by this report will help us to build more support for these initiatives and to make more progress.

“We also commend the Council on Foreign Relations for recognizing in this report that the United States must demonstrate its leadership in addressing this serious global health issue. As with past efforts, our nation’s participation has been critical in galvanizing the world’s involvement, and we join with the council in urging the U.S. government to convene the appropriate stakeholders to stop the spread of NCDs.

“If we do not address the global growth of chronic diseases soon, the worldwide impact will be devastating. The American Heart Association’s commitment to this fight will continue and we hope that this timely report will prompt countries and philanthropic organizations to work with us to confront this crisis.”

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