PAHO/WHO seek to tackle region's chronic diseases

WASHINGTON (CMC):

Caribbean countries have been told that they can save money and improve their access to medicines for hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer through the Revolving Fund for Strategic Public Health Supplies of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), known as the PAHO Strategic Fund.

"The objective is to help countries increase their access to medicines and assure these are of high quality and available at competitive prices, to help them deal with the chronic disease epidemic in the Americas," said James Fitzgerald, PAHO/WHO senior adviser on medicines and health technologies.

The UN health organisations said that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death in the Western Hemisphere and that more than 200 million people in the Americas, including the Caribbean, suffer from a non-communicable disease.

They said many suffer from more than one, making NCD prevention, treatment, and care a major challenge for the region's countries.

PAHO/WHO said that as of April 2013, the list of products available through the Strategic Fund includes 16 essential medicines for hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.