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NCD Alliance to meet Thursday
The Non-Communicable Disease Alliance will be meeting for the second time this Thursday to plan out its strategies to combat NCDs in the CNMI. The meeting will be at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan, from 9am to 12pm.
At its last meeting in December, the alliance agreed to work on strategies to counter the near-epidemic rate of non-communicable diseases in the CNMI in a separate meeting.
This Thursday, the NCD Alliance will have updates from its new officers that includes the NCD Alliance mission, guiding principles, mantra, committees, 2015 priorities, plan of action, and schedule of future meetings.
They will also talk about the NCD surveillance efforts of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Division of Public Health.
NCD Alliance chair Dr. Don Hardt will also talk about a pilot diabetes prevention program.
Working groups will be formed for the strategic plan and targeted goals. This will help health officials emphasize the urgent need to adopt changes in people’s lifestyle to combat the spread of NCDs, particularly since traditional ways and practices of islanders contribute to these NCDs.
The NCD Alliance is a group of various stakeholders that include CHCC, DPH, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ Nutrition Assistance Program, the Public School System, media groups, Hardt Eye Clinic, Northern Marianas College-CREES, Commonwealth Cancer Association, Rota Health Center, Kagman Community Health Center, Staywell, Tinian Health Center, Division of Youth Services, Community Guidance Center, Marianas Health Services, Let’s Move Marianas, CNMI Diabetes Coalition, disability stakeholders, community members, and other organizations.
The top five leading chronic diseases in the CNMI—all of which causes death and disability—are cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, renal disease, and diabetes.
