Re:Topic 2 DQ 2

An estimated 17.5 million people worldwide died of cardiovascular diseases in 2005. That represents 30% of all global deaths. Over 80% of these occurred in low-income to middle-income countries. Four big behavioral risk factors cause non-communicable diseases. These risk factors for NCD are, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, insufficient physical activity, and harmful use of alcohol (Shah, 2014). The aging of the baby boom generation will produce a sharp rise by the year 2020 in the number of people who will die due to heart disease and stroke. Between 2010 and 2030 medical cost of cardiovascular disease is projected to triple, from 272.5 billion to 818.1 billion. Much of the increasing global impact is attributable to economic, social, and cultural changes that have led to increases of the risk factors for CVD. 1,000,000 people are admitted to the hospitals each year due to heart disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospital readmissions costing Medicare 17 billion a year. One avoidable risk factor is smoking, more than 1 billion of the world’s population smoke. The burden of CVD is globally significant. Reducing the risk factors is key worldwide (Oliva, n.d.).

The CDC is inspired by a vision of a world where people live healthier, safer, and longer lives. Since the CDC’s creation, it has focused on improving health and preventing disease around the world. The health of Americans is integrally connected to the health of the rest of the world. CDC partners with the ministries of health (MOH), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in addressing the world’s leading health issues (“CDC,” 2015, p. 8). No one group could act alone, considering the challenges worldwide. Some other Nations agencies are UNICEF, United Nations Foundation, The World Bank, and many private foundations. CDC’s role in addressing non-communicable diseases focuses on (1) surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory support; (2) identifying risk factors and evidence-based prevention strategies; (3) strengthening data, data systems, and use of data to increase effective policy development and public health action; and (4) increasing country capacity and workforce skill development. These organizations are assisting countries to develop, implement, and evaluate programs for reducing risk factors for these non-communicable diseases (“CDC,” 2015, p. 26). We can see the success of global initiatives, in 1967 there began a vigorous global effort to eradicate smallpox. There were more than 10 million cases in over 43 countries, the WHO had two simple strategies. Vaccinate 80% of the population, and detect cases as soon as possible to isolate them in their homes and stop the spread. The last known case of smallpox occurred in 1977 in Somalia (Maurer & Smith, 2009, p. 123).