[afro-nets] Course on non-communicable diseases

["Claudio Schuftan" <cschuftan@phmovement.org>]

According to the Noncommunicable Diseases Action Plan adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2008 “throughout the life course, inequities in access to protection, exposure to risk, and access to care are the cause of major inequalities in the occurrence and outcome of noncommunicable diseases”. The Action Plan 2008-2013 aims to raise NCD higher on the global development agenda and to address the social determinants of NCD.

As part of the implementation of the Action Plan, WHO is co-sponsoring a residential course titled “*Reducing the Burden of NCD: Addressing the Causes of the Causes” *to be held in Venice (Italy) from 7-12 June 2009. The Course is organized by Padua University in collaboration with the Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion (Geneva HQ), the European Office for Investment for Health and Development of the WHO (Venice), the Local Health Unit (ULSS 12-Venice), and the Veneto Region of Italy.

It will explore the evidence and the frameworks used to address the burden of noncommunicable diseases through action on the social determinants of health (e.g. urbanization, income, education, trade) and. the conventional risk factors. (tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, harmful use of alcohol). The course is intended for a maximum of 25 professionals working in health- and health-related sectors with an interest in promoting equity and reducing the burden of NCD. Participants will enhance their skills in analyzing the determinants of NCD, in working across sectors, and in promoting interventions to reduce the burden of NCD and health inequities.

Faculty members include professors and researchers from Padua University, University College London (Great Britain), the University of East Anglia (Great Britain), the Medical University of Graz (Austria), the University of Beijing (China), the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (India), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (France), WHO and other European and extra-European academic and public institutions.

Links
http://www.medicina.unipd.it/on-line/Home/International/News/articolo921.html
http://www.euro.who.int/socialdeterminants/news/20090305_1

For information:
mailto:fli@ihd.euro.who.int