With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, “[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1,” Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog “Croakey.”

“To do that we need governments … to agree and act on common goals,” including “reduc[ing] preventable deaths from NCDs by 25 percent by 2025,” creating a “timeline for tackling the epidemic of the four major NCDs — cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease,” defining a “set of specific, evidence-based targets and global indicators,” and establishing a “high-level collaborative initiative of governments and U.N. agencies with civil society to stimulate and assess progress,” Moodie writes. “If we can achieve a coordinated global response to NCDs through the U.N. Summit with substantially increased resources, we will be well on the way to helping millions of people worldwide to lead longer, healthier, happier and more productive lives,” he concludes (9/1).