Scaling up prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region

Surveillance is an essential component in the campaign to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), both globally and in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). In order to address the increasing burden from these diseases, countries must first evaluate their own systems and see what steps need to be taken to improve preparedness. Therefore, the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Cairo, Egypt, conducts country capacity surveys on a regular basis to compare each Member State's NCD provision to the Framework for Action to implement the UN Political Declaration (2011). Ten progress indicators cover governance and planning, reducing risk factors and healthcare provision. Each one is scored for whether a country is fully, partially or not achieving this goal. This review focuses on comparing the Progress Monitor reports for the 22 EMR countries in 2015 and 2017. While the criteria used to assess some of the indicators have been updated over this period, many categories still show strong improvements. However, others still require extensive work if countries are to meet the sustainable development goal of reducing by 25% the number of premature deaths from NCDs by the year 2025.