Iran among UN non-communicable diseases prevention award winners
United Nations Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (UNIATF) conferred its ¿rst award to Iran and some other countries.
World Health Organization (WHO) Deputy Director General Soumya Swaminathan presented the award to Iran, Turkey, Bahrain, India, and some other countries and individuals on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session held in New York, IRNA reported.
The award was initiated by UNIATF (a subsidiary of WHO) at its 10th meeting in Vienna in February 2018 on countries and individuals that have contributed greatly to ¿ghting and preventing the world’s leading avoidable killers (NCDS).
Seven in 10 deaths worldwide are caused by non-communicable diseases (NCD) mainly originating from tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity, according to UN.
Iran’s Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi had earlier said that Iran deserves the award because of its effective measures to prevent heart diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
Qazizadeh pointed to UN report on eradication of the eye disease trachoma in Iran, saying, “Improving drinking water and healthcare services quality helped Iran eradicate the disease.”
Over one million people around the world are inàicted by trachoma.