Join us on Wednesday, 20th March for the next NCD Hard Talk webinar titled “Toxic air is fuelling NCDs. Why are we not taking action?”
We are confronted with two public health emergencies that need to be urgently addressed: NCDs and air pollution. Here are the hidden facts:
• The simple act of breathing kills 7 million people a year - outdoor and indoor - and harms billions more.
• Almost all these deaths – 85% – are attributable to NCDs, including heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
• As much as 99% of the world’s population breathe air with pollution levels that are unsafe, according to the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines.
Based on these facts, taking action is imperative. In 2019, Member States requested WHO to prepare a menu of policy options and interventions to reduce the number of premature deaths from NCDs attributed to air pollution, expanding to the 5x5 NCD agenda which incorporates air pollution as the fifth risk factor for NCDs.
This NCD Hard Talk will challenge both the NCD and air pollution communities and bring up proposals on how to work together and take action.
This session is jointly organized by Departments for NCD and Environment, Climate Change & Health (ECH) and supported by the Joint Working Team for UHC/UHC Partnership. The event is also part of the series Clean Air and Energy for Health.