Novo Nordisk presents Next Generation Living at RIO+20

(3BL Media) June 5, 2012 - Next Generation Living

Register now for Rio+20 side event on health and sustainability with Connie Hedegaard, Sir George Alleyne and Enrique Peñalosa.

Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases are the world’s #1 killer. These non-communicable disease (NCDs) are putting an increasing pressure on people and economies across the globe. The largely preventable causes of these diseases include tobacco use, unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity - causes that go hand in hand with social inequality and are some of the root causes of climate change.   

Nevertheless, despite obvious synergies, solutions aimed at preventing NCDs - and advancing economic, social and environmental development are rarely decided and designed in the same room.

Breaking down the wall

On the occasion of the Rio+20 Conference the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, the NCD Alliance, the Global Health Council, Novo Nordisk and Sustainia have joined forces to explore integrated solutions to prevent NCDs and advance sustainable development.

The side-event Next Generation Living will:

• Illustrate how preventing NCDs will enable sustainable development;
• Showcase solutions from cities, workplaces and schools that have successfully worked to promote healthier, more sustainable living;
• Identify key priorities for advancing partnerships and integrated solutions to both prevent NCDs and advance economic, social and environmental development;

Next Generation Living will convene leaders from governments, the UN, academia, business and civil society, offering an exceptional opportunity to network with those who are shaping the global health and sustainability agenda today.

Meet Connie Hedegaard, Sir George Allyene and Enrique Peñalosa

Confirmed presenters at Next Generation Living include:

• Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organization
• Dr Nicholas Alipui, Director of UNICEF Programmes.
• Ms Ruth Colaguiri, Vice-President, International Diabetes Federation, and Director Health Sustainability Unit, Boden Institute, The University of Sydney
• Ms Connie Hedegaard, European Union Commissioner for Climate Action and Member of the Global Sustainability Panel
• Enrique Peñalosa, former three term Mayor of Bogotá, Columbia and sustainable city champion.

Follow the event on Twitter - #NextGenLiving

Register here: Next Generation Living

When:          21 June 2012, 16:30 – 19:00. Dinner is served after the meeting.

Where:        Windsor Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro

Further information

Lykke Schmidt

Background

NCD Alliance briefing paper:  Tackling Non-communicable Diseases to Enhance Sustainable Development

The global epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is now widely acknowledged as a major development challenge in the 21st century and a significant threat to achieving internationally agreed development goals. NCDs are the leading causes of death worldwide. Almost two-thirds of all global deaths are due to NCDs. Increasingly, it is low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the poorest and most vulnerable populations that are hardest hit by these largely preventable diseases. In addition to being the leading causes of death, NCDs often impose years of disability on those affected and their families. The onset of many NCDs can be prevented or delayed by addressing their common risk factors: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and insufficient levels of physical activity.

This policy brief explains how NCDs are linked to the three pillars of sustainable development: economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection. The brief describes how the NCD epidemic constrains economic development, and it discusses the social and environmental factors that are common to the NCD epidemic and to sustainable development issues of food security and agriculture, urbanization, and clean energy.