Progress slowing ‘significantly’ against non-communicable diseases, WHO warns – CTV
September 18, 2025
Progress in the battle against non-communicable diseases like heart disease and cancer, which are the leading cause of death globally, has slowed considerably since 2020, the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
The UN health agency stressed in a new report that even small increases in investments could save millions of lives and yield up to $1 trillion in economic benefit.
In its report “Saving lives, spending less”, WHO highlighted that NCDs, which are often preventable and caused by an unhealthy lifestyle or living conditions, kill 43 million people every year, including 18 million under the age of 70.
Hundreds of millions more people live with at least one NCD, which can dramatically reduce their quality of life and life expectancy, and more than one billion people live with mental health conditions, it said.
WHO noted that nearly all countries made progress between 2010 and 2019 in reducing the burden of NCDs, which include cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
