“Countries need to change their current mindset to successfully tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs), the head of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said [Monday], adding that governments will need to explore new approaches to prevent and treat these diseases, which have quickly become one of the most pressing issues in public health,” the U.N. News Centre reports (1/16). “In an opening speech to the annual WHO Executive Board meeting, Director-General Margaret Chan … urged the 34-member board to tackle the root causes of non-communicable diseases,” VOA News writes (Schlein, 1/16). 

“Chan reiterated WHO’s commitment to make this issue a priority in its agenda for this year to achieve the goals set during the political declaration on NCDs in September” and “also emphasized that for any public health approach to be successful, governments will have to strive to end socio-economic inequality in their societies,” the U.N. News Centre writes (1/16). “Chan also listed a number of significant health accomplishments in the first decade of this century,” including the fight against polio, VOA notes (1/16).