(14 March 2017) Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases are the leading cause of premature deaths in the world. More than 80% of premature deaths caused by one of these diseases occurs in developing countries even though this can be prevented in the majority of cases. In order to face this reality, the Italian development cooperation must go down new paths together with partner countries in order to promote new strategies for the treatment and prevention of NCDs and to fight the risk factors at both the individual and community level and the impact on society. The Italian Agency for development cooperation organised a conference taking place on March 17 titled “Strengthening prevention of noncommunicable diseases in developing countries”. The conference proposes to examine existing measures of prevention and is simultaneously an opportunity to present Palestine as a case study – a country in which efficient prevention policies have been implemented.
