Brazil: Getting a Move on NCDs
By: Elizabeth Nussbaumer, Thea Joselow and Nalini Saligram
By 2030, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are projected to cause nearly five times as many deaths as communicable diseases worldwide. All people, rich and poor, are affected by this epidemic, but none more so than the poorest populations in developing countries, as NCDs increase poverty, which in turn causes rising rates of disease. Changing behavior – such as getting people to exercise – is one of the hardest challenges in chronic disease prevention.
Since the 1970s, Brazil has experienced rapid economic growth, resulting in significant lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, the consequence of these shifts was considerably higher levels of non-communicable diseases. The book Sick Societies: Responding to the Global Challenge of Chronic Disease asserts that in 2004, chronic diseases accounted for 70.1 percent of all deaths in Brazil. Additionally, an estimated $49.2 billion (2.5 percent of Brazil’s GDP) has been lost due to disability or death from chronic disease. It is imperative to Brazil’s continued development that it contains and prevents NCDs.
