The United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) carried out a mission to Kyrgyzstan from 14 to 17 March 2016 to support the Government of Kyrgyzstan.
The mission was held to ensure the NCD-related targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in national development plans and policies, and to accelerate the implementation of national commitments on NCDs. These are included in the 2011 United Nations General Assembly Political Declaration on NCDs and the 2014 UN General Assembly Outcome Document on NCDs.
NCDs cause 80% of deaths in Kyrgyzstan
NCDs - principally cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases cause 80% of all deaths in Kyrgyzstan. Most worryingly, the probability of dying prematurely (i.e. before the age of 70 years) from NCDs in Kyrgyzstan in 28%, which means that nearly one of every three adult dies before they should.
“I invited the UN Task Force to Kyrgyzstan because I am absolutely committed to preventing premature deaths from NCDs in our population. The epidemic of NCDs is now one of our biggest socioeconomic issues”, said Dr Talantbek Batyraliev, Minister of Health of Kyrgyzstan.
“We simply cannot afford the costs of people becoming ill from NCDs at such a young age. The support of the UN is crucial as we move ahead. But the support of civil society and professional organizations is important too.”, he added.
Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Kyrgyzstan said, “We are committed to support the Government putting NCDs at the forefront of the national development agenda. We owe this to the country’s next generation.
Kyrgyzstan recently celebrated its population reaching six million people and now is the right moment to ensure that our children grow up in an environment where they will not be at risk of dying from NCDs in their prime”, he added. “Every second death in Kyrgyzstan is from cardiovascular disease and 80% of these premature deaths can be prevented”, Dr Habicht emphasized.
Action against NCDs is vital for development
“Tackling NCDs is crucial for sustainable development and for ensuring that Kyrgyzstan reaches its full socioeconomic potential” said Mrs Yukie Mokuo, Acting UN Resident Coordinator and UNICEF Representative to Kyrgyzstan. “I am committed to ensuring that the UN Country Team here in Kyrgyzstan supports the Government in its multisectoral response to NCDs”, she highlighted.
“A multisectoral action requires whole-of-government and whole-of society-approaches”, said Dr Nick Banatvala, WHO, Geneva who led the UN Task Force Mission in Kyrgyzstan. “If Kyrgyzstan is going to tackle the risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and poor nutrition, as well as physical inactivity then government ministries must come together and engage to ensure policy coherence and mutual accountability of different spheres of policy making that have a bearing on NCDs”, he added.
UN Taskforce encourages policy action on NCDs
The mission welcomed a range of NCD policies and laws that Kyrgyzstan has in place, but warned the government that full implementation with strong enforcement is now required. This is especially so with regards tobacco, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diet.
The mission will be making a series of recommendations that encourage action in these and other key areas, alongside a commitment for the UN system to scale up its technical assistance to the Government and make its policy expertise available at all stages of implementation. The Government’s commitment to engage with all sectors of society, including civil society, to generate an effective national NCD response will usher a new era that will provide the greatest impact and efficiency.
The mission saw good examples of NCD care being provided in primary care in Bishkek and highlighted the need to roll out high quality primary care for patients with NCDs and at risk of NCDs throughout Kyrgyzstan. “We are committed to provide high quality health services to those with NCDs, with a focus on primary care”, added Dr Batyraliev.
The mission included representatives from the following nine agencies: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO), which led the mission.
The Mission met with ministers and senior officials from ministries of health, finance, economy, education and science, agriculture and others. The Mission also met with international development partners, as well as representatives of civil society, including NGOs and professional and academic associations.
The mission is optimistic that highlighting that Kyrgyzstan can rise to the challenge on NCDs. The recently 2015 WHO NCD Progress Monitor, scored countries against 18 specific targets on national NCD planning, surveillance, as well as policies in place for the prevention and management of NCD.1 According to the report, had fully met 8 of these 18 targets Kyrgyzstan and the joint mission believes that by 2018 more of these targets can be fully achieved.
For Mission findings regarding NCDs in Kyrgyzstan see table to the right.
Reference:
1-2 WHO Noncommunicable diseases progress monitor 2015 (page 107) 16 countries in the world have fully achieved 8 indicators. They include Denmark, Finland, Germany and Latvia.