Inter Press Service: Fighting Killer Diseases Is Essential in the Post-2015 Agenda
Laurent Huber, director of the Framework Convention Alliance

“…[T]he Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will replace the MDGs in 2015 must expand the list of health goals to include non-communicable diseases (NCDs) — the world’s #1 killer. … The largest burden — 80 percent, or 28 million deaths — occurs in low-middle-income countries (LMICs), making NCDs a major cause of poverty and an urgent development issue. … Tobacco is the leading risk factor for NCDs. … In 2003, the world’s governments adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC], the first modern-day public health treaty. … Including NCDs and the FCTC in the development goals that will be announced by the U.N. General Assembly in 2015 will also ensure that battling the tobacco epidemic becomes a national priority, and prevent millions of premature deaths” (7/7).