In his second article on the event, Sydney Morning Herald writer Mark Metherell offers this headline on 'We Can, We Should, We Will Conquer Cancer.'
Disease 'tsunami' is sweeping the world, UN warned
Sydney, Australia — CHRONIC illness like heart disease and cancer will cost the world an estimated $US35 trillion ($33 trillion) over 25 years unless concerted action is taken to combat the ''tsunami'' of such diseases now taking hold in developing countries.
The preliminary results of analysis for the United Nations indicate the world faces a ''staggering burden'' unless it acts to quell the often preventable non-communicable diseases.
A Harvard University health economist, David Bloom, who is leading the study, told a briefing at the UN in New York yesterday that the world was confronted by a ''perfect storm'' of disease influences which were already gripping wealthy countries and were also emerging in the more populous developing world.
The factors include the rise in tobacco use in poorer countries; a wider consumption of calorie-rich, salty food; obesity; and ageing populations.
Professor Bloom said the preliminary estimates found that, last year, newly diagnosed cancer cases cost the world about $US300 billion in treatment and output forgone by those with the disease. The bill for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as bronchitis was about $US400billion.
Professor Bloom's earlier report to the World Economic Forum contributed to worldwide agitation for the UN to take the unprecedented step of calling on world leaders to agree to a public health declaration to focus global attention on fighting non-communicable diseases, 80 per cent of which afflict developing countries and are growing rapidly in China and India.
He appealed to the world's treasurers and finance ministers to accept the warning of the health and business sectors - that diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure were squeezing economic impact and the world could not afford not to act. ''Action will be costly but inaction is likely to be far more costly,'' Professor Bloom said.
A UN document said that while it was popularly believed that non-communicable diseases were afflictions of the well-off, they were now the most frequent cause of death in all parts of the world except Africa.
The UN said the greatest reduction in the rates of the diseases through more effective measures such as encouraging smokers to stop smoking, could be achieved ''through modest and cost-effective investment''.
John Seffrin, the president of the American Cancer Society, which wants a UN declaration that calls for stronger anti-tobacco measures worldwide, said it was unacceptable for governments not to act in the face of an impending tsunami that was obvious to all.
''No health problem has gone so under-reported and so misunderstood than that the poorest people in the poorest nations suffer most,'' Dr Seffrin said.
The Nobel laureate, Dr Harold Varmus, said prevention was ''the best buy'' for world health. Vaccines were available to prevent two of the most common cancers among the poor, cervical and liver cancers, while many once-expensive cancer drugs were now much cheaper.
The high-level meeting at the UN is scheduled for September but it is uncertain whether the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will attend. A spokesman said the meeting was important but the government was yet to finalise its representation.
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