The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), under the United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (UNIATF), worked with the Government of Kazakhstan to complete the first phase of developing the socioeconomic case for scaling up action on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The mission quantified the social and economic burden of the four major NCDs – cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory diseases and cancers – in Kazakhstan, and identified strategies for cost-effective action.
Kazakhstan, like the rest of the world, confronts an epidemic of NCDs that is having serious economic and public health impacts. The rise in NCDs is being fueled by tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. 58.7% of the population is overweight or obese, 46% of men smoke tobacco and levels of alcohol consumption by those who drink are among the highest in the WHO European region.
NCDs now account for 82% of total deaths in Kazakhstan, and the probability of dying prematurely (before the age of 70) from one of the four major NCDs is 33%. Rates of cardiovascular disease are particularly high, contributing to over half of total deaths in the country.
“Kazakhstan has already taken steps to confront its NCD burden, including smoking bans in many public places and taxes on alcohol and tobacco products,” said Jill Farrington, Technical Officer with the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen. “Still, enforcement challenges persist in many areas, and there are several key evidence-based NCD prevention measures that could be implemented across all sectors of government. Every government ministry has a role to play in NCD prevention, and every ministry can benefit from the increased productivity and economic gains of a healthier population.”
To promote a whole-of-government response to NCDs, the mission met with ministries of health, finance, labour and social protection, economy, education, agriculture and internal affairs. The mission also discussed NCD action with representatives from the private sector, medical academia, civil society, the Committee of National Statistics, the Gender and Family Commission, the Astana Health Department and members of Parliament. The mission presented its preliminary results to the Minister of Health and United Nations Country Team.
“This joint WHO-UNDP mission will result in a tailor-made investment case, to show how NCDs hold back the Kazakhstan economy both directly, through health care costs, and indirectly, through the costs of premature death and lost or reduced workforce productivity. The final report will also provide the estimated return on investment of implementing certain cost-effective NCD measures both in terms of financial and health benefits between now and 2030,” said Alexey Kulikov, from the UNIATF Secretariat in Geneva.
The NCD investment case will be finalized over the coming months, and it is expected that the report will be launched in Astana later this year. Investment cases in other countries have found that national economies are losing, in some cases, more than 5% of gross domestic product annually due to the direct and indirect costs of NCDs.
Members of the investment case team expressed optimism about the potential for NCD action in Kazakhstan. “Premature death, illness and disability from NCDs are a major drain on national economies, but this is largely avoidable. By investing in proven measures to prevent and control NCDs, Kazakhstan can save money on treatment and ensure a healthier, more productive workforce to support its economic growth ambitions," concluded Roy Small, from UNDP Headquarters in New York.
The NCD investment case for Kazakhstan is being developed under the UNDP-WHO Joint Global Programme on NCD Governance, with the financial support of the Government of the Russian Federation.