MoH to launch National Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs

Addressing a press gathering on Tuesday, H E Dr Ali Talib al Hinai, Undersecretary for Planning Affairs in MoH said that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are a real risk and one of the biggest development challenges in the 21st century.

“They represent the major cause of morbidity and mortality global wise. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these diseases kill 38mn people annually, half of them are under the age of 70. Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of most deaths resulting from NCDs, which causes 17.5mn deaths every year, followed by cancer (8.2mn deaths), then respiratory diseases (4mn deaths) and diabetes (1.5mn deaths),” he said.

In Oman, approximately, 72.9 per cent of deaths are attributed to NCDs, of which 24.3 per cent are due to the cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, seven per cent due to cancer and 2.2 per cent due to diabetes according to statistics of 2016.

Physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco and alcohol are the main risk factors, as they increase the risk of death resulting from the NCDs.

A Political Declaration of the High-Level General Assembly Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases was issued in September 2011. The declaration called for strengthening and facilitating multi-sectoral actions for the prevention and control of NCDs through an effective partnership between the country’s institutions, the private sector and the civil community organisations.

In light of this declaration, as well as the effective health system of the sultanate in controlling non-communicable diseases, a number of international experts, including a UN team headed by Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO assistant director general for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health with a membership of 13 experts from the UN organisations visited the sultanate in April 2016.

The visit aimed at addressing the mechanism of decision-making relating to non-communicable diseases control, developing regulations and action plans in this regard.

MoH, since a long time, has promoted efforts to combat these diseases in its various institutions. It has introduced the clinics of diabetes, hypertension and asthma in the primary healthcare institutions, as well as provided all the necessary medications and laboratory tests.

The ministry has also launched the early screening national programme for non-communicable diseases for those over 40 years in all the primary healthcare institutions to facilitate early diagnosis and provide optimal treatment to prevent and reduce complications.

The multi-sectoral national plan aims at reducing premature deaths resulting from non-communicable diseases by 25 per cent by 2025. The plan contains eight chapters addressing the various aspects of prevention and control of NCDs.