UN task force to help India address NCDs

NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry is hosting the joint mission of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force (UNIATF) on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which is visiting India from December 8-12.

The mission is in India to enhance the support of UN agencies to the government of India to scale up the national multi-sectoral response to NCDs.

A high level stakeholder forum has been organised with officials of key government ministries under the chairmanship of Lov Verma, Secretary (HFW).

It will map the ongoing bilateral and multilateral processes to support the government in its efforts to address NCDs within the context of India's 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) and highlight approaches for effective coordination of national multi-sectoral response to NCDs.

The UNIATF mission comprises of representatives from WHO, UNDP, World Bank, UNFPA, UNICEF and other UN agencies. The UNIATF was established in July 2013 by the UN Secretary General to support UN agencies and international development partners to work together in a coordinated manner to assist national efforts to prevent and control NCDs.

Due to the rising burden of NCDs in India, it is among the priority countries where UNIATF will help national efforts to respond to the NCDs problem and provide impetus to attaining national NCD targets.