India registered a significant decline in Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) since 2013. While the overall decline has been 22%, Uttar Pradesh has shown an impressive decline of 30% — highest among the States.

According to the just released SRS bulletin (2016), India has shown impressive gains in reduction of maternal mortality with 22% reduction in since 2013.

Nearly one thousand fewer women now die of pregnancy related complications each month in India. Maternal Mortality Ratio of India has declined from 167 in 2011-2013 to 130 in 2014-2016. The decline has been most significant in EAG States and Assam from 246 to 188. Among the Southern States, the decline has been from 93 to 77 and in the Other States from 115 to 93.

Maternal mortality or number of women dying during childbirth is a crucial development indicator. As per WHO, maternal death refers to the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy.

Measured in terms of number of women dying during child birth per one lakh live births, MMR reflects on any country’s human development index.

The drop in points was highest for Uttar Pradesh and Assam with 91 points respectively when compared to 2010-12 data. The two States have also contributed immensely in bringing down the overall national figure. The MMR of UP in 2011-13 was 292 to 201 in 2014-16 and of Assam it was 328 in 2011-13 that has now come down to 237.

J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said the latest SRS figures reveal that India had gone beyond the MDG target of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 139 by 2015.

According to the SRS Bulletin, there were nearly 12,000 fewer maternal deaths in 2016 as compared to 2013, with total number of maternal deaths for the first time reducing to 32,000. This means that every day 30 more pregnant women are now being saved in India as compared to 2013.

Amongst the States, Uttar Pradesh with 30% decline has topped the chart in the reduction of Maternal Deaths. Three States have already met the SDG target for MMR of 70 per 100,000. These are Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are within striking distance.

The results signify that the strategic approach of the Ministry has started yielding dividends and the efforts of focusing on low performing States is paying off, especially initiatives like Mission Indradhanush and Intensified Mission Indradhanush with their focused approach are significantly turning the tide in favour of India. Other major initiatives under the umbrella of National Health Mission like augmentation of infrastructure and human resource, capacity building, and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram which provides for free transport and care for pregnant women have also contributed to the success.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Thursday interacted with the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna and other Central Government health care schemes from across the country, through video bridge. .

Explaining the importance of healthcare and wellness, Prime Minister said that health is the basis for all success and prosperity. He added that that India would become great and healthy only when its 125 crore citizens are healthy.

Mr Modi said that illness not only creates a huge financial burden on families, especially poor and middle class, but also affects our socio economic sectors.  Hence, it is the endeavour of the government to ensure affordable healthcare to every citizen. Prime Minister added that Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna was launched with this intention so that poor, lower middle class and middle class get access to affordable medicines and their financial burden is reduced.

Government has opened more than 3600 Jan Aushadhi Kendras all over the country, where more than 700 generic medicines are available at affordable price. The cost of medicines at Jan Aushadhi Kendras are 50-90% less than the market price, Prime Minister said and added that the number of Jan Aushadhi Kendras will reach over 5000 in the near future.

Talking about health stents, Prime Minister Modi said that earlier citizens had to sell or mortgage property to purchase stents. He added that, the government has reduced the prices of stents substantially to help poor and middle class. The cost of heart stents have reduced from around Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 29000.

During the interaction, Mr Modi said that the Government has reduced knee transplant prices by 60 – 70%, thereby bringing down the cost from Rs. 2.5 lakh to around Rs.70, 000 – 80,000. It is estimated that around 1 to 1.5 lakh knee operations happen in India every year. On that account, the reduction in knee transplant prices has saved close to Rs.1500 crore for public.

Through Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Dialysis Program, Government has performed more than 22 lakh dialysis sessions for 2.25 lakh patients in more than 500 districts. More than 3.15crore children and 80 lakh pregnant women have been vaccinated in 528 districts through Mission Indradhanush. In order to ensure more beds, more hospitals and more doctors, Government has opened 92 medical colleges and increased MBBS seats by 15000.

Prime Minister said that to make healthcare affordable and accessible, Government launched the Ayushman Bharat scheme. Under Ayushman Bharat, 10 crore families will be covered with health insurance of Rs. 5 lakh. Talking about ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, Prime Minister said that the scheme is playing a central role in creating a healthy India. Due to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, there are now 3.5 lakh open defecation free villages in India and the sanitation coverage has increased by 38%.

Interacting with the Prime Minister, beneficiaries explained how Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojna brought down the cost of the medicines and made it affordable. Beneficiaries also talked about how reduced prices of heart stent and knee transplants have changed their life.

Despite ample food supplies, persistent conflicts and adverse climate shocks are taking a toll on global food security, according to a new report launched on Thursday by the United Nation’s agriculture agency.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) new Crop Prospects and Food Situation reveals that since its last report in March, the number of countries requiring external food assistance has jumped by two, namely Cabo Verde and Senegal, to 39.

According to the report, civil war and insecurity in Africa and the Middle East have displaced millions – resulting in high hunger rates.

“Poor rains have hit cereal production prospects in South America and Southern Africa,” FAO explained. “Unfavourable weather conditions are also placing a heavy burden on pastoralists in West Africa.”

The food insecure countries on FAO’s list are: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Conflict and erratic rainfall

Turning to cereal production, FAO foresees a 1.5 per cent annual drop from last year’s record high, with a larger decline in some areas, such as South and North America and Southern Africa.

“Conflicts have choked agricultural activity in swathes of Central Africa, notably in the Central African Republic and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where access to food is further hindered by surging inflation,” FAO elaborated.

On a brighter note, after consecutive seasons of drought-reduced harvests, fresh rains point to cereal production gains in East Africa.

Meanwhile, abundant rains recently triggered flooding in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, displacing some 800,000 people. In contrast to the trend in the subregion, high staple food prices are rising in Sudan and South Sudan, intensifying food insecurity risks.

In the absence of humanitarian assistance, the number of severely food insecure people in South Sudan is expected to rise to 7.1 million people during the June-July lean season.

Turning to Asia, the cereal harvest is projected to remain similar to last year’s, with recoveries in countries affected by unfavourable weather conditions, including Bangladesh, Viet Nam, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and, to a lesser extent, Sri Lanka. 

While favourable crop conditions in India and Pakistan mean wheat outputs are expected to rise further, fair weather will not be enough to boost crop production in war-afflicted areas, as chronic conflicts impedes access to fields such as in Iraq and Syria, where this year’s harvests are expected to decline further.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will  participate in the 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China on June 9.

Prime Minister Modi will also hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 9, the first day of the summit: External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told journalists here on Thursday.

On the sideline of the SCO summit, Mr. Modi will also have other engagements with leaders of Central Asian countries.

The SCO, largely dominated by China and having Central Asian nations as its members, is holding its apex meeting in the Chinese city of Qingdao from June 9-10.

In the preparation for the SCO summit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had recently visited China to participate in the ministerial meetings.

An inter-governmental organization, the SCO was founded in 2001. Among its members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China. India and Pakistan were admitted as full members of the organisation in June 2017 during its Astana summit.

Primary care facilities in India are not well prepared to provide high-quality obstetric and newborn care, and facility capacity is worst in States with the worst health outcomes, a latest study has said.

The Indian government will need to increase investment in the health system, in providers and in research to harness the full benefit of its public health infrastructure. Research on regionalisation is a priority as this may offer an innovative approach to ensuring quality services for mothers and newborns, according to the study “Can India’s primary care facilities deliver? A cross-sectional assessment of the Indian public health system’s capacity for basic delivery and newborn services’’ by Jigyasa Sharma, Devaki Nambiar and others.

The impact of regionalisation strategies on facility overcrowding, performance incentive structures for front-line workers, as well as equity in service access should be important considerations of such research.

Over the past decade, India’s health system has operated in an extremely resource-constrained environment: from 2004 to 2014, government health expenditure has remained approximately around 1% of country’s gross domestic product. 

“Improving quality of care and strengthening public health infrastructure is integral to India’s path to universal health coverage: without an explicit focus on quality, a push towards universal coverage is unlikely to lead to better health for mothers and newborns.’’ The study says.

The aim of the study was to assess input and process capacity for basic delivery and newborn care in the Indian public health system and to describe differences in facility capacity between rural and urban areas and across States.

The researchers used data from the nationally representative 2012–2014 District Level Household and Facility Survey, which includes a census of community health centres (CHC) and sample of primary health centres (PHC) across 30 States and Union Territories in India. It covered 8536 Primary Health Centres and 4810 Community Health Centres.

About 30% of PHCs and 5% of CHCs reported not offering any intrapartum care. Among those offering services, volumes were low. Both PHCs and CHCs failed to meet the national standards for basic intrapartum care capacity. While in CHCs, capacity was slightly higher in urban areas, gaps were most striking in availability of skilled human resources and emergency obstetric services. Poor capacity facilities were more concentrated in the more impoverished states, with 37% of districts from these States receiving scores in the lowest third of the facility capacity index.

Improving maternal and newborn health outcomes will require focused attention to quality measurement, accountability mechanisms and quality improvement. Policies to address deficits in skilled providers and emergency service availability are urgently required, the study has said.

Increased coverage of facility-based births has not successfully translated to desired improvement in health outcomes for mothers and newborns. Under India’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM, now called the National Health Mission or NHM), a variety of interventions were introduced through architectural improvements in the fund flow and design of services: increased number of maternal care facilities, particularly primary health centres (PHC) and community health centres (CHC); a strengthened supply chain for essential medicines, equipment and supplies; and Janani Suraksha Yojana, a financial incentive programme to increase institutional deliveries.

Following the launch of NRHM in 2005, institutional deliveries in rural areas have more than doubled, and a declining trend in maternal and newborn mortality has been noted, although strong causal evidence linking NRHM efforts to improved health outcomes for mothers and newborns is lacking. Annual decline in neonatal mortality between 2005 and 2015 was faster than in the preceding years; however, the rate of decline is not sufficient to meet the 2030 SDG targets. Inadequate quality of care, including insufficient facility readiness, and low provider skill and clinical management capacity, as evidence from low/middle-income countries (LMIC) indicates, may explain why increased utilisation alone may not have resulted in the desired reduction in adverse intrapartum outcomes. Moreover, quality of care itself also affects utilisation.

Evidence indicates that the availability of a labour room and adequacy of essential equipment and laboratory services for childbirth at public health facilities have a significant effect on service uptake. Describing and improving quality of intrapartum care is relevant to increasing service uptake in India, where maternal and newborn services are underused despite the availability of primary healthcare in public health facilities free of charge, the study has said.

Public health facilities are a significant provider of care in India, especially for rural and vulnerable population segments. About 80.1% of all deliveries in rural India are facility based, of which about 70% are in public facilities. For urban areas, 89.5% of births are institutional, 47.4% of which are in public facilities. In the majority of India’s States, more facility-based deliveries happen at government health institutions than in private facilities. Additionally, quality of care in the public sector affects the poorest segment of the population the most, as the poorest wealth quintile is more heavily reliant on public health facilities than the richest, in both rural (58% vs 29%) and urban areas (48% vs 19%).

New Delhi : Applications are now open in India for the Rhodes Scholarships – widely considered to be the most respected post-graduate academic scholarships in the world. The Rhodes Scholarships are post-graduate awards supporting outstanding all-round students, to enable two to three years of study, depending on the academic route taken, at the University of Oxford, the oldest and amongst the most well regarded universities in the world.

The Rhodes Scholarships aspire to create ‘leaders for the world’s future’ and are achievement-based awards, open to students with proven intellectual and academic attainment of a high standard, who show exceptional character, leadership, achievement in extra-curricular activities and a commitment to service in the public good. Since Independence, there have been 217 Rhodes Scholars from India. This illustrious list includes prominent personalities such as Olympian Ranjit Bhatia, playwright Girish Karnad, and economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Each year, five Indian Scholars are selected on the basis of their intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service, to join Rhodes Scholars from around the world at the University of Oxford in a Rhodes Scholars class of approximately 100.

Winners of the Rhodes Scholarship emerge after a competitive application and selection process spanning over 6 months. The finalists are shortlisted based on applications and a preliminary interview and are then interviewed individually on their interests, achievements and goals before the independent selection panel makes its selection.

Applications for the 2019 Rhodes Scholarship are open to Indian citizens between the ages of 19 and 25 (as of October 1, 2019) who have received or are on the path to receiving at least a first class undergraduate degree. Applications may be submitted online on or before July 31, 2018.

The Rhodes Scholarships include all university and college fees for two to three years (depending on the academic route taken), an annual stipend, and travel expenses to the University of Oxford before the start of the programme and a return ticket following the course of study.

Studying at the University of Oxford will give the chosen Scholars access to world class academics in their field as well as an international alumni network that includes heads of state, Pulitzer Prize winning authors, Nobel Prize winners and Olympians.

To apply for the Rhodes Scholarships for India 2019, aspirants must submit an online application, which includes submission of academic transcripts, the names of six references, proof of age and an essay describing the proposed course of study at Oxford, general interests and activities, including activities demonstrating energy and drive, and future aims of the candidate, each as further described in the Rhodes Scholarships 2019 India Memorandum.

Outstanding applicants will be shortlisted for regional and final interviews with a panel consisting of eminent personalities who will recommend the final five Rhodes Scholars for 2019.

The Centre has launched the oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).

‘Janaushadhi Suvidha’ –the affordable sanitary napkins will now become available at over 3600 Janaushadhi Kendras functional in 33 States/UTs across India.

Launching the sanitary napkins, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya said that this is a special gift for all women on the eve of World Environment day, as this unique product would ensure affordability, hygiene as well as ease of use and disposal for them.

Janaushadhi Suvidha comes with a special additive, which makes it biodegradable when it comes in contact with oxygen after being discarded. This would ensure ‘swachhta, swasthya and suvidha’ for the underprivileged women and go a long way in the achievement of Prime Minster Narendra Modi’s vision of Affordable and Quality Healthcare for All, the Minister added.

The average price of sanitary napkins available in the market today is around Rs. 8 per pad, whereas now with the launch of the napkins at Rs. 2.50 per pad, will make the basic hygiene requirement aid for women affordable for the underprivileged sections.

According to the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, about 58 percent of women aged between 15 to 24 years use locally prepared napkins, sanitary napkins and tampons. Further, about 78 percent women in urban areas use hygienic methods of protection during menstrual period; only 48 percent women in rural areas have access to clean sanitary napkins.

NEW DELHI: A young man, all of 28 years, was aspiring to become a civil servant but abruptly and sadly ended his life on Sunday in the heat of the national Capital. Varun Subhash Chandran had failed to enter the examination centre, notified by the UPSC, in time on Sunday morning to take the preliminary exams of civil services. He was late only by four minutes.

This delay of four minutes weighed heavily on the mind and thought process of Varun and ultimately sniffed out his life as he committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. The four minute-delay caused a young life to cease to exist and put a lid firmly on his aspirations and dreams. 

Apparently, he had wasted precious few minutes by going to a wrong examination centre and by the time he realized his mistake and rushed to the designated centre, the gates were closed. And after an hour or so he closed all the possibilities of life upon himself.

Let us ponder, what could have happened if was allowed entry to the examination centre by the supervising staff. The examination had not even begun, there were six minutes to go for that. Varun could have rushed to his seat and taken the prelims exam and his life could have been saved. 

This archaic regulation needs to be thrown out immediately. Closing the entry gates of the centre even before the exam has begun. The supervising staff could have taken a sympathetic view, could have imagined the plight of a youth who came running to make it in time. No candidate wants to be late for the all important exam but even if a candidate is allowed a late entry and is not granted any other relaxation or extra time, it is the candidate’s fate – he or she would have to complete the examination in the allotted time. The time wasted by late entry debits his or her own time to take on the paper.

Varun was attempting the UPSC prelims for the sixth time. He was aware of all regulations and stipulations but it was a stroke of bad luck that he could not enter the centre four minutes ago. There are many candidates who have to cover long distances but it was not so in case of Varun, the young life which was lost to a rule that could have shown only a bit of leniency in allowing him to take the exam. It would have been wholly his own fate – what if he could have cleared it and gone on to the mains section. He had failed to clear it in the past five attempts, the pressure on him was immense and he could not cope with it.

So far there has not been any official statement on Varun’s suicide for being four minutes late. Probably, all the wise men and women of vast experience and wisdom who are members of the UPSC can instruct the supervisory staff at examination centre to use their judgment on the spot in deciding upon such individual cases which would be negligible but would save a young life, offer yet another opportunity to an aspirant. By no means, it would have given Varun an extra edge or advantage over other candidates appearing in the civil services exam.

Last year, Lok Sabha Secretariat had conducted a prelims exam for assistants. One of the centres in South Delhi was located next to an under construction government school and candidates had a tough time in locating it. No rule was broken but supervisory staff and the security personnel allowed candidates entry moments before the examination began. Nothing was lost. Failure or success depends on an aspirant’s preparation and hard work, let him or her realize that. Surely, we are not turning into a police or military State and are not becoming stumbling blocks in building a value-based, purposeful, constructive and humane society. 

“Rules are rules, but bending them for a good purpose should be legitimate.” These were the last words of Varun Chandran who hailed from Karnataka and had come to Delhi to give wings to his dreams which now lay shattered. Nobody’s life will be affected by his suicide except his family’s who will never be come to terms with the loss of their young one. The news of his suicide managed to enter the pages of all newspapers and news portals but will it spur any rethink on rules? It is time that measures are in place so that another Varun does not take his own life. 

A unique new kind of warfare, the global trade war, is now on the horizon. The flashpoint is the slugfest between the world’s two largest economies, the U.S. and China  to ensure that their products remain cheap and affordable. This is the main aim of the battle, of which the first skirmish began in March this year when U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs by 25 per cent on imports of steel and aluminium from all over the world including 3 billion dollars worth of supplies from China. At the time, he had exempted the European Union and neighbours like Mexico and Canada. Those exemptions were withdrawn a week ago. To add to the belligerence, he has now threatened to levy 25 per cent tariff on goods worth 50 billion dollars imported from China. In turn, the Asian economic powerhouse has threatened to levy retaliatory tariffs on goods ranging from pork to soyabean being imported from the U.S.

The latest round of  talks between the two countries in Beijing has ended in a stalemate. Irked by the U.S. President’s tough public talk, China has threatened that all the decisions taken at this meeting will be revoked unless it is publicly stated that the proposed tariffs will not be imposed. 

During the negotiations, media reports say the Chinese government had agreed to buy more goods from the U.S. in a bid to curb the trade deficit. The focus was on energy and plans to buy liquefied natural gas from Alaska. In addition, China had agreed to lower technical barriers to trade that could potentially double agricultural exports to that country. Besides, it had even cut tariffs on consumer imports and were planning to remove curbs on foreign investment in energy and transport sectors. The Chinese authorities were perturbed that despite these offers, the Trump administration continued to make public threats about levying higher tariffs.

The rest of the world is watching the situation with concern as a trade war between the U.S. and China will have an impact on the entire world. In case the effort to slow down China’s growth succeeds, it will mean lower demand for goods now being imported from many other countries. For instance, some countries are exporting components to China that are used in products meant for shipment to the U.S. Others manufacture goods in the U.S. and supply to China, like in the case of automobiles, an item on which tariffs may be raised by the latter.

Not only that, the tariff war launched by the Trump administration can ultimately harm rather than help the booming U.S. economy. Many analysts have recalled that a similar hike in steel and aluminium tariffs in 2002 during the tenure of former President George Bush had to a steep rise in domestic steel and aluminium prices at the time. This in turn had led to the closure of many small businesses and job losses rather than job creation. In this context, one must point out that one of the reasons being given for this aggressive attitude by Donald Trump has been the need  to propitiate his blue collar constituency. This segment has seen many jobs go overseas due to closure of factories in the U.S. The strong action against China is thus seen as a retaliatory strike against the forces that took away those jobs.  Unfortunately, such policies are more likely to end in more jobs being lost than creating any new jobs.

As far as India is concerned, protectionist rise in tariffs is bound to hit its exports to the U.S as well as China. In the case of the U.S., it has already been marginally impacted by the increased levies on steel and aluminium exports as it supplies only two per cent of that country’s requirements. But in case the tariff war expands, it could be affected in a much bigger way. Currently, India is trying to benefit from the prospect of soyabean exports being scaled down from the U.S. by offering to supply this commodity to China. But such advantages can only be in the short run. In the medium and long term, higher tariffs will definitely mean a setback to the efforts to increase exports.

It would thus be in India’s best interests to join hands with other stakeholders like the European Union as well as other Asian countries to deal with the situation. For the time being, it may not be affected by the turmoil in the global economy. But it cannot remain untouched in case the current strains between the U.S. and China erupt into a full blown trade war. For the time being, however, it needs to closely monitor the situation and ensure that India’s economic interests are not compromised in any manner at all.

(Views expressed are personal.)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new action plan on physical activity and health.

The WHO Global action plan on physical activity and health 2018-2030: More active people for a healthier world’’shows how countries can reduce physical inactivity in adults and adolescents by 15% by 2030. It recommends a set of 20 policy areas, which combined, aim to create more active societies through improving the environments and opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to do more walking, cycling, sport, active recreation, dance and play.

It also calls for support to, for example, training of health care workers and other professionals, stronger data systems, as well as use of digital technologies.

 Â“Being active is critical for health. But in our modern world, this is becoming more and more of a challenge, largely because  our cities and communities aren’t designed in the right ways,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We need leaders at all levels to help people to take the healthier step. This works best at city level, where most responsibility lies for creating healthier spaces.”

Worldwide, one in five adults, and four out of five adolescents (11-17 years), do not do enough physical activity. Girls, women, older adults, poorer people, people with disabilities and chronic diseases, marginalized populations, and indigenous people have fewer opportunities to be active. 

Regular physical activity is key to preventing and treating non communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and breast and colon cancer. NCDs are responsible for 71% of all deaths globally, including for the deaths of 15 million people per year aged 30 to 70.

Dr Tedros added: “You don’t need to be a professional athlete to choose to be active. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator makes a difference. Or walking or using the bike instead of driving to your neighbourhood bakery. It’s the choices we make each and every day that can keep us healthy. Leaders must help make these choices the easy ones.” 
 
To support national efforts to implement the plan, WHO is launching an advocacy campaign to promote physical activity, Let’s Be Active: Everyone, Everywhere,Everyday.This new drive, launched at the Portuguese Football Association’s iconic Cidade do Futebol (City of Football), aims to encourage governments and city authorities to make it easier for people to be more physically active, and healthier.

Physical inactivity is more than a health challenge: the financial costs are also enormous. Globally, physical inactivity is estimated to cost US$54 billion in direct health care, of which 57% is incurred by the public sector and an additional US$14 billion is attributable to lost productivity. 

World leaders will meet later this year to take action on physical inactivity and other causes of NCDs, and mental disorders, when they take part in the Third United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting on NCDs, being held on 27 September in New York.