The Swedish NCD Alliance

The Swedish NCD Alliance was formed in connection with the UN high-level meeting on the prevention and control of NCDs (non-communicable diseases) in mid-September 2011. The alliance consists today of 25 Swedish non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Non-communicable diseases account for the majority of premature deaths worldwide. In Sweden, non-communicable diseases account for 90 per cent of all deaths.

Four categories of disease – cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease – are the biggest causes of death. These have four major common risk factors: tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy eating habits and inadequate physical activity. When you take into consideration lost healthy years of life in addition to mortality, mental illness also belongs to these major disease categories, on the same scale as cancer.