PMNCH Knowledge Summaries: #15 - Non-communicable diseases
Note: Full text and all graphs, tables and references for each Knowledge Summary are available only on the PDF version.
Women and children in low- and middle-income countries often bear a triple burden of ill-health related to pregnancy and childbirth, to communicable diseases and to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mainly cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. This burden is exacerbated by high healthcare costs and productivity losses that push households into a vicious cycle of poverty, loss of income, debt and ill-health, and adversely affects national economies. NCDs increasingly affect women and children across the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) continuum. Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol are the four main risk factors for NCDs. The RMNCH continuum of care provides several opportunities to prevent, diagnose and treat NCDs. The UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health recommends that healthcare for NCDs be provided as part of an integrated approach to promote women’s and children’s health.
There are some NCDs that specifically affect women, adolescent girls and children. For example, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide, causing an estimated 458,400 deaths in women in 2008, despite the availability of methods for early detection and treatment. Of the 1.4 million new cases of breast cancer identified in 2008, about half were in low- and middle-income countries. Certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, lead to the development of pre-cancer and cancer of the cervix. 88% of the 275,000 women who died from cervical cancer in 2008 were in low- and middle-income countries. Children can develop chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and congenital heart abnormalities. Each year 8 million children are born with birth defects, including heart defects.
To reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, accelerated progress is required. NCDs can impede progress towards the MDGs and severely affect women’s and children’s health worldwide. Increasing exposure to NCD risk factors affects not only women’s and children’s health, but also increases the vulnerability of future generations to ill-health. The RMNCH continuum of care provides many opportunities to integrate NCD services. These synergies can be strengthened by forging links between the 2010 UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health and the UN High-level Summit on NCDs in September 2011.
Please read the full text of the Knowledge Summary and download the pdf version with all tables and graphs on the MNCH Knowledge Portal.
