ISLAMABAD: The Director General of World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has commended the work of Dr Sania Nishtar for leading the WHO Independent High-level Global Commission on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).

Dr Tedros, in his statement at the global commission’s meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, expressed his great appreciation for an outstanding job done by Dr Nishtar.

“Dr Sania Nishter’s commitment to working better together, characterised by innovative ideas and a sense of urgency, is helping shape the WHO that responds to our changing world,” he said.

The commission is co-chaired by President Tabare Vazquez of Uruguay; President Sauli Niinisto of Finland; President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka; Minister Veronika Skvortsova of Russia and Dr Sania Nishtar of Pakistan.

The commission’s aim is to identify innovative ways to curb the world’s biggest causes of death and extend life expectancy for millions of people.

Collectively, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), mainly cancer, diabetes, lung and heart diseases kill 41 million people annually, accounting for 71 per cent of all deaths globally, 15 million of which occur between the ages of 30 and 70 years. Low- and middle-income countries are particularly affected by NCDs, with four out of five premature deaths from NCDs occurring in these countries.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2019