The Long Tail of Global Health Equity: Tackling the Endemic Non-Communicable Diseases of the Bottom Billion.

Bottom Billion is a two-day conference organized by the NGO Partners in Health on 2-3 March 2011.  It is organized in collaboration with the NCD Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Global Taskforce on Extended Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries.

The conference focuses on the burden of NCDs of the poorest of the poor, the “bottom billion”, which is largely composed of children and young adults.  Health professionals, policymakers, development organizations and funders who are committed to improving the lives of the poorest of the poor are invited to the conference: registration is free.

To date, the debate on NCDs in global health has focused almost exclusively on the NCD epidemic that is caused by the three common risk factors: tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. For the poorest of the poor, the prevalence of the three common risk factors remains low; instead they suffer from a collection of endemic NCDs (e.g. Rheumatic Heart disease, cervical cancer, sickle cell disease, malnutrition diabetes, and epilepsy). All are linked to poverty and some are caused by communicable disease or malnutrition. No single condition has a dramatic prevalence but together they impose a heavy disease burden that is not effectively addressed by the type of vertical, disease specific strategies that have been used to tackle communicable disease.  The endemic NCDs that affect the poorest of the poor require an integrated approach that strengthens health system capacity for both prevention and treatment - an approach that fits with that required by the broader NCD epidemic. Anchoring a commitment to meeting the needs of the Bottom Billion into the broader debate on NCDs is what is required. It is a logical way to bridge the divide between the worlds of communicable and non-communicable disease advocacy.

The World Heart Federation leads the global fight against Rheumatic Heart Disease, which figures prominently on the conference programme. 

Read more and register for the conference >

Watch the Conference Webcast live >

Download the conference edition of the Partners in Health guide to chronic care integration - Rwanda edition >