New publication analyses NCD policy development

The greatest disease burden in Europe comes from noncommunicable diseases (NCD). In 2005 an estimated 86% of deaths and 77% of disease burden were caused by NCD. Yet this is an area where the greatest health gains are available at relatively modest cost.

A reviw to assist policy-makers

This book gives a detailed insight into the policy development in eight European countries over several decades to address the challenge of NCD, and draws out the main themes to assist policy-makers in formulating their own response. Specific highlights include:

• A description of the key features of NCD policy development in the last two decades in Europe, the broader context and related policy initiatives
• A detailed description of NCD policy development in Albania, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan and Lithuania - countries at different levels of economic development and with a range of political, administrative and health care systems and length of NCD policy experience
• A cross-analysis of the case studies and other sources, to reflect on country experiences throughout the policy cycle, present lessons learnt, and illustrate how different stakeholders and NCD issues influence the development of policy
• Valuable pointers for countries to support them in moving forward within the framework of the European NCD Strategy and alert them to emerging challenges and opportunities for NCD policy development in the future.

While originally developed to support countries in the implementation of the WHO European Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, the insights are likely to be of benefit to a much wider audience.