Sharjah: Sharjah will host the second edition of the Global Forum on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in December 2017, it was announced.
The three-day forum will bring together over 300 prominent figures, including NCD leaders and high-profile officials, health specialists and NCD experts, international NGOs, and select government representatives, as well as NCD organisations and societies from all over the world.
It comes as part of Sharjah’s and the UAE’s goals to mobilise and unite international efforts in the global fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs), overturning their negative impact on human societies worldwide.
The forum, to be hosted on December 9 to 11, is being held under the directives and patronage of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
Shaikha Jawaher is the founder and royal patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), International Ambassador for the World Cancer Declaration of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC and Patron of Global NCD Alliance Forum.
Amerah Bin Karam, president of the Board of Trustees and founding member of Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), highlighted the pioneering role played by Shaikha Jawaher in the ongoing battle against NCDs and its negative consequences.
She outlined a number of Shaikha Jawaher’s initiatives and campaigns that have been supporting cancer- and NCD-control efforts across the globe, noting that such initiatives speak volumes about her humanitarian commitment to raising awareness about these diseases, and providing necessary treatment and health care to patients.
Bin Karam said that NCDs are responsible for 68 per cent of deaths globally.
She called for the need to implement the recommendations that came out of the 2015 Global NCD Alliance Forum, during which the Ruler of Sharjah reiterated Sharjah’s commitment to combating NCDs.
Sharjah hosted the first edition of the Global NCD Alliance Forum, which was held under the theme ‘NCD Advocacy and Accountability in the Post-2015 Era’ in November 2015. The forum, held jointly by FoCP and the NCD Alliance, succeeded in developing an effective road map leading up to the year 2030 that unite and accelerate civil society action and accountability in combating NCDs.
The 2015 Forum also witnessed the announcement of the ‘Sharjah Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases’, which called on governments to champion NCD prevention, implement goals and promote interventions, allocate resources, establish robust and transparent monitoring systems and include the voices of those affected by NCDs in policy development.
The Sharjah Declaration also calls on the United Nations to integrate NCDs into the broader scope of human rights, health and development policies; improve tracking of resources for NCDs and provide technical support to governments in low- and middle-income countries to achieve the agreed upon NCD goals.
