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Annual Report

Message from the Board Chair

I am very pleased to introduce the annual report of HealthBridge. The report demonstrates the remarkable contributions of the staff and partners of HealthBridge to international health development.

In terms of development trends there is increasing attention being paid to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs are the leading cause of death globally; nearly 80% of NCD deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The NCD epidemic is thwarting poverty reduction efforts.

The UN General Assembly, the principal decision-making body of the UN that represents all UN member states, has just concluded its Summit on NCDs in order to bring global attention to these diseases and agree on a plan of action to address them. The Summit focused on the ‘four most prominent non-communicable diseases, namely, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes’, and the ‘common risk factors of tobacco use, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and environmental carcinogens.’

The Summit is the biggest and best opportunity to put NCDs on the global agenda. It has the potential to secure commitment from Heads of Government for a coordinated global response to NCDs, substantially increase financial resources for NCDs, and save millions from premature death and debilitating health complications. It also has the potential to lead to measurable targets and commitments from governments to take action on NCDs, for which they can be monitored and held accountable through regular reporting. And HealthBridge is playing a role in defining this action plan.

Our very own Shoba John, Program Manager based in India, was Chair of a session at the Civil Society Hearings held in New York in June 2010, where civil society had an opportunity to highlight some of the key issues that should become part of the plan coming out of the Summit. Francis Thompson, Tobacco Control Advisor for HealthBridge, was a speaker from the floor, emphasizing the importance of taxation as a powerful tool not only for reducing consumption of less favourable substances, but also for raising much needed revenue to address NCD prevention. And Kristie Daniel, Program Manager for Livable Cities, stressed the importance of addressing the physical environment as a critical factor in enabling increased physical activity and improved nutrition for prevention of NCDs.

HealthBridge’s Livable Cities program has been addressing NCDs since 2007 and has recently been increasing its efforts. The program aims to promote sound urban design to improve health, gender equity, the urban environment, and poverty reduction efforts. You can read more about HealthBridge’s leading edge research in this Report.

The future continues to be bright for HealthBridge. On behalf of the Board I wish to recognise the outstanding work of the staff in Canada and the field.

Dr. Frank Eady

Chair, HealthBridge Board of Directors

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2010 Annual Report

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Copyright 2010 HealthBridge.

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