Iran has been declared one of the best performing countries in tackling non-communicable disease by the World Health Organization in its latest Non-Communicable Diseases Progress Monitor 2017 released on Monday.
Iran and Costa Rica lead the 10 best performing countries, each achieving 15 of the 19 indicators, followed by Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey and Britain, each with 13 indicators, and Finland, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, each achieving 12, xinhuanet.com reported.
The report presents information for each country related to their achievement of the NCD progress monitoring indicators. The profiles also include information on the population, percentage and number of deaths from NCDs, and the risk of premature death from the four main NCDs, namely cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases.
According to the report, the risk of premature death from the four main NCDs is 15% among Iranians between ages 30 and 70 years. The country registered 291,000 NCD deaths in 2015, amounting to 81% of total deaths during the period.
Iran has fully achieved 15 of the WHO’s progress indicators, and partially achieved three more, including mortality data, mass media campaigns for tobacco reduction and marketing of breast-milk substitutes restrictions. The only area where Iran has failed to achieve any progress is in increasing excise taxes and prices for tobacco.
The report finds that progress around the world has been uneven and insufficient in addressing the four main shared NCD risk factors, tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.
“Bolder political action is needed to address constraints in controlling NCDs, including the mobilization of domestic and external resources and safeguarding communities from interference by powerful economic operators,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls out.
The report provides data on 19 indicators in all of WHO’s members, such as setting time-bound targets to reduce NCD deaths; developing government policies to address NCDs; and strengthening health systems through primary health care and universal health coverage.
Iran, as a member state in the Agenda for Sustainable Development, is committed to reducing premature NCD deaths by one third by 2030 and promote mental health and wellbeing (Sustainable Development Goal target 3.4).
IraPEN, Iran’s adaptation of WHO’s Package of Essential Non-Communicable Diseases, was launched last year in four districts of Iran to help improve universal health coverage, including access to NCD prevention and care and mental health services.
Under the action plan, Iran seeks to lower the risk of cancer and stroke in 30-70 year olds by 90% and reduce premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025.
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