Civil society organisations in the Americas are delivering a manifesto this week to Heads of State participating in the Summit of the Americas urging them to personally attend the High-Level Meeting on NCDs on 27 Sept.

The manifesto also calls on the leaders to implement policies to combat NCDs, which are responsible for roughly 80% of all causes of death and 35% of premature deaths in the region.

“The response to the increase in NCDs has been slow and insufficient, even though nowadays we know that sustainable development is not possible without a commitment to improve people’s health,” states the manifesto.

The document calls on governments to “assume their responsibility for addressing NCDs with concrete and effective measures to protect the health of the population and reduce NCDs’ impact. This can be done by implementing public policies that:

• Reduce consumption of salt, sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods with saturated fats;
• Reduce use of alcohol and tobacco;
• Increase the price of unhealthy products;
• Promote physical activity; and
• Provide universal access to medications and healthcare.”