NCD Prevention

World Health Organization has recommended a list of evidence based “Best Buys” for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. The Best Buy’s are summarized here for the use of health professionals.

The proposed best buy’s are listed according to the cost effectiveness showed in the WHO Choice analysis.

Effective interventions with cost effectiveness analysis ≤ I$ 100 per DALY averted in LMICs

Reduce tobacco use

Increase excise taxes and prices on tobacco products

Reduce tobacco use

Implement plain/standardized packaging and/or large graphic health warnings on all tobacco packages

Reduce tobacco use

Enact and enforce comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship

Reduce tobacco use

Eliminate exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke in all indoor workplaces, public places, public transport

Reduce tobacco use

Implement effective mass media campaigns that educate the public about the harms of smoking/tobacco use and second hand smoke

Reduce the harmful use of alcohol

Increase excise taxes on alcoholic beverages

Reduce the harmful use of alcohol

Enact and enforce bans or comprehensive restrictions on exposure to alcohol advertising (across multiple types of media)

Reduce the harmful use of alcohol

Enact and enforce restrictions on the physical availability of retailed alcohol (via reduced hours of sale)

Reduce unhealthy diet

Reduce salt intake through the reformulation of food products to contain less salt and the setting of target levels for the amount of salt in foods and meals

Reduce unhealthy diet

Reduce salt intake through the implementation of front-of- pack labelling

Reduce unhealthy diet

Reduce salt intake through the establishment of a supportive environment in public institutions such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and nursing homes, to enable lower sodium options to be provided

Reduce unhealthy diet

Reduce salt intake through a behaviour change communication and mass media campaign

Reduce physical inactivity

Implement community wide public education and awareness campaign for physical activity which includes a mass media campaign combined with other community based education, motivational and environmental programmes aimed at supporting behavioural change of physical activity levels

Manage cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Drug therapy (including glycaemic control for diabetes mellitus and control of hypertension using a total risk approach) and counselling to individuals who have had a heart attack or stroke and to persons with high risk (≥ 30%) of a fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular event in the next 10 years

Manage cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Drug therapy (including glycaemic control for diabetes mellitus and control of hypertension using a total risk approach) and counselling to individuals who have had a heart attack or stroke and to persons with moderate to high risk (≥ 20%) of a fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular event in the next 10 years

Manage Cancer

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (2 doses) of 9–13 year old girls

Manage Cancer

Prevention of cervical cancer by screening women aged 30–49, either through:

Visual inspection with acetic acid linked with timely treatment of pre-cancerous lesions
Pap smear (cervical cytology) every 3–5 years linked with timely treatment of pre-cancerous lesions
Human papillomavirus test every 5 years linked with timely treatment of pre-cancerous lesions

Department of Community Medicine
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