In the Americas, noncommunicable diseases (NCD) cause 80 percent of deaths-36 percent of them premature and they particularly affect the poor. Faced with these challenges, the Organization of American States (OAS), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of the United Nations, and the World Bank, launched the Inter-American Task Force on NCDs on June 17th at the OAS Headquarters in Washington DC. 



The "Declaration of Commitment: Strengthening Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases through Cooperative Action of the Inter-American System"  recognizes that NCDs pose a serious threat to regional and national development of the Americas and that there are large inequities in access to prevention and treatment services for NCDs within countries and between countries in the region. It also recognizes that the increasing prevalence and burden of these diseases falls on socially and economically vulnerable populations.



International agencies will coordinate with government sectors and civil society to develop a comprehensive and sustained response to NCDs, and to advocate for, and support the application of universal health coverage and universal access including strengthening of health systems, all these taking into account the gender aspects and the particularities of the most vulnerable populations.