Secretary Clinton’s inspiring piece on how the interests of the U.S. and India are aligned on issue after issue (India and the United States: A Focus on the Fundamentals) compelled me to articulate one more way in which the world’s two biggest democracies could pave the way for international co-operation. This is a remarkable opportunity for the U.S. and India to join together in addressing NCDs, chronic non-communicable diseases.

An amazing thing happened during the 65th World Health Assembly in Geneva this past week. Governments set the stage to agree to a historic target to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs – including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases) by 25% by 2025.

Arogya World recently had the opportunity to discuss NCDs with none other than Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). As world leaders are gathering in Geneva… Read More

I was fortunate to be invited to attend the Geneva Health Forum. This three-day global health meeting brought together frontliners from around the world, global policymakers, mostly Europe-based, industry and civil society to discuss how we should address NCDs.   Hats off to Dr. Slim Slama and others who worked hard to put together panels and group discussions that were both thought-provoking and offered a rich array of perspectives.

Instigating behavior change is something we all struggle with in the fight against NCDs. In this guest post, Ann describes how she put her experience as behavior change specialist at Alive & Thrive to good use to develop both a message and delivery that would resonate with her audience and generate action. For more information, see “Research to Action,” Alive & Thrive’s first case study kit.

Results from the first of our Healthy Schools program year are in. They show that when diabetes awareness and prevention messages are delivered to middle school children by trained teachers and peer-leaders using age-appropriate, creative and compelling educational modules, they are effective in increasing both awareness of diabetes and its seriousness.

We know that the right nutrition from pregnancy to a child’s 2nd birthday (the 1,000 day window made popular by the 1000 Days partnership) can have “a profound impact on a child’s ability to grow, learn, and rise out of poverty.” Many scholars now agree that we can influence the life-long health of the child, and even prevent chronic diseases, by intervening during this period.

Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Francine Kaufman is a distinguished researcher in the field of childhood diabetes, known for her intelligence, energy and dedication to diabetes care, research and advocacy – and also a member of the Arogya World Behavior Change Task Force. She’s been writing about her experiences in post-earthquake Haiti. With her permission, we’ve composed the following excerpt from one of her letters from the field.

Arogya World founder Nalini Saligram met Seun Adebiyi at the GTF.CCC (Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control) “Closing the Cancer Divide” conference in Boston on October 28, 2011. And she was immediately taken by his story, his drive and his eloquence. “This young man’s sheer grit, determination and incredibly positive attitude to life are inspiring to all,” said Nalini. To mark World Cancer Day, Feb 4, we are pleased to share his inspiring story, and how he’s turning a personal challenge into a better chance for survival for others.

In September of 2011, we announced a new mHealth commitment at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting. In partnership with Nokia Life Tools we pledged to reach at least 1 million users of Nokia Life Tools in India with compelling messages about diabetes prevention, developed in conjunction with experts at Emory University. On Monday, January 9, 2012, the first diabetes prevention text messages were sent to the first of the 1 million consumers we have promised to reach – a very exciting milestone.