WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
Women spending their evening doing aerobic exercises.

Noncommunicable diseases in the Western Pacific

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, are not passed from person to person. They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types – cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases – impose a major and growing burden on health and development.

NCDs are the leading causes of death and disability in the Region, responsible for 80% of all deaths here. Globally, NCD deaths are projected to increase by 15% between 2010 and 2020 (to 44 million deaths), with the highest numbers predicted in the Western Pacific (12.3 million deaths) and South-East Asia (10.4 million deaths) Regions. Of particular concern is the high level of premature mortality from NCDs (deaths before 70 years of age) in several low- and middle-income countries.

WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
A nurse gives a class on nutrition to pregnant women at the Referral Provincial Hospital

75%

Pacific island countries and areas have a very high prevalence of obesity, with adult prevalence as high as 75%

WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
A registered nurse attending to a foreign tourist who had a stroke while on her cruise ship in Rarotonga hospital.

50%

Regionally, noncommunicable diseases account for 50% of all premature mortality (under 70 years of age) in low- and middle-income countries.

WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
Tomotherapy unit, National Cancer Institution

80%

Noncommunicable diseases are responsible of 80% of all deaths in the Western Pacific Region

Noncommunicable diseases in the Western Pacific

75%

50%

80%

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