Chronic Disease, Injury are Heavy Burdens for E&E Countries
On October 25, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the Commonwealth Foundation co-hosted a seminar on the findings of a newly-released USAID-funded research report titled “Non-communicable disease and injuries (NCDI) in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.” The principal authors of the report, Dr. Gerard Anderson and Dr. Adnan Hyder, are faculty members of the JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health. The seminar was moderated by Paul Holmes, Senior Regional Health Advisor with USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia; discussants included the authors, Drew Luten, Acting Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia; Robin Osborn of the Commonwealth Fund; Sylvia Robles and Patricio Marquez of the World Bank; Gail Wilensky of Project Hope; Michael Eichelberger of SafeKids, USA; and Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute.
Evidence that “non-communicable diseases and injuries play a major role in the high mortality and morbidity rates and have a major impact on the countries of the E&E region” is compelling, but the findings come as no surprise to those who have lived and worked in the region.
“Although some USAID programs have partially addressed NCDI-related problems in the past, notably primary health care and health partnership programs, our ability to continue addressing these serious issues in any depth right now is highly limited,” says USAID’s Holmes.
Nevertheless, he believes that the report will be valuable and expects that its findings and recommendations will serve to legitimize the issue of NCDI, engage the dialogue and contribute to strategic thinking on how the international donor community can play a catalytic role in drawing notice and much-needed resources to NCDI in the E&E region.
View the full report, Non-Communicable Disease and Injuries (NCDI) in Eastern Europe and Eurasia - October 2006 (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 3.22mb)
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