Taking poverty to heart:
non-communicable diseases and the poor
09.04.2001
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide.
Their emergence as the predominant health problem in wealthy countries
accompanied economic development. As a result, NCDs are often referred to as
'diseases of affluence'. But is this a misleading term? It suggests that
these are not major problems for the world's poor, which is quite simply
wrong, as this issue of Insight Health illustrates. Is it time to rethink
policy on NCDs?