The Chinese version of a World Health Organization (WHO) global report on the prevention of chronic diseases was jointly launched by China's Ministry of Health (MOH) and the WHO on Tuesday.

 

"Without action, an estimated 388 million people will die globally from chronic diseases in the next 10 years. Over 80 million of those deaths will be in China," said Catherine Le Gales-Camus, assistant director-general of the WHO's non-communicable diseases and mental health department.

 

The report, Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment, focuses on prevention of major chronic conditions, primarily heart disease, strokes, cancer, asthma and diabetes.

 

Robert Beaglehole, director of the WHO's department of chronic diseases and health promotion, said 80 percent of chronic disease deaths occurred in low and middle income countries, adding that 35 million died globally in 2005 due to chronic diseases.

 

Chronic non-communicable diseases are now the top killer of Chinese people, as they account for around 80 percent of total deaths in China, which is one of the nine selected countries featured in the report, said Kong Lingzhi, the MOH's senior official in charge of disease control.

 

China currently has nearly 350 million people smoking cigarettes, 160 million with abnormally high blood pressure and 300 million tipping the scales as either overweight or obese, according to the MOH.

 

Chronic diseases including heart disease, strokes and diabetes will incur an economic loss of US$550 billion over the next 10 years in China, the WHO estimated.

 

Wang Longde, MOH's vice minister, said the MOH has been developing the first medium and long-term high level national plan (2005-2015) for chronic disease control and prevention, which incorporates comprehensive and integrated programs to effectively fight the diseases.

 

In 2002, China established the national center for chronic and non-communicable disease control and prevention to be responsible for surveillance and population based interventions.

 

The center was designated on Tuesday as a WHO Collaborating Center on Community-based Integrated Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention.

 

The center is currently working to establish a national chronic disease control network that would survey the country's population and accumulate human, technology and information sources, according to Wang.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2006)