By: Kimberly Reed, Executive Director, IFIC Foundation   Date: 09/13/11

Next week in New York City, Heads of State and Government from around the world will be gathering at the United Nations for a historic High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). 

As outlined in my blog post from July 27 – What Are NCDs and How Can We Respond? – NCDs, which include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), cause 60% of all deaths globally, with more than 80% occurring in developing countries.  WHO attributes NCDs to poor diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol.  For additional background, there is an excellent YouTube video – WHO: Unite in the Fight Against NCDs – that will give you greater context of the issue and the United Nations meeting.

The IFIC Foundation also will be in New York next week to supplement this discussion with our International Food Information Council Foundation’s Global Diet and Physical Activity Communications Summit: “Insights to Motivate Healthful, Active Lifestyles.” On Monday, September 19 at the Union League Club, we will engage with a variety of stakeholders from various sectors of society to discuss responses for the prevention and control of NCDs and you are invited to join us!

We will feature prestigious participants from around the world and focus on five outcomes-oriented topics:

• Setting the Stage: Explaining the Rise of NCDs – Perspectives from Leading Officials
• Understanding Consumer Behavior: Breaking Through Consumer Mindsets and Progressing Toward Optimal Health
• Confusion on All Sides of the Equation: Communicating Energy Balance to Decrease Obesity
• Challenges and Opportunities for Communicating to Today’s Global Consumer: Multi-Stakeholder Perspectives
• Applying Effective Risk Communication to Motivate Healthful, Active Lifestyles

We also are honored that the U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin will be our luncheon keynote speaker, especially as she is part of the official U.S. delegation to the High-level Meeting at the United Nations.

And, today, we just announced that we will close our Summit with an exciting performance by a wonderful Mexican children’s singing group, Amigo de Mi (Friend of Myself), which is a Mexico Ministry of Health initiative aimed to promote a healthier lifestyle through exercise and energy balance.

Our Global Summit will be an invaluable opportunity for you to learn about communication tools and best practices while interacting with global stakeholders – from governments; communication, health, and fitness professions; civil society; nonprofits; academia; and the private sector – who are focused on science-based communications that can help promote healthful, active lifestyles.  You can register here: http://www.foodinsight.org/Global-Summit/tabid/1440/Default.aspx.

As was communicated in the United Nations High-level Meeting on NCD Prevention and Control draft declaration agreed to by Member States on September 7 and is being prepared for adoption on Tuesday, September 20, the IFIC Foundation and many key stakeholders from around the world will be engaging in “collaborative partnerships to promote health and to reduce NCD risk factors, including through . . . promoting healthy diets and lifestyles.”  And, this will continue for the years to come, including when the United Nations does a “comprehensive review and assessment in 2014 of the progress achieves in the prevention and control of NCDs.”  Come join us!