According to WHO information, 7.9 billion soms of this burden are related to direct healthcare costs, while the majority of losses are associated with lost productivity.
It is important to note that there is not only a visible part of the economic burden but also an invisible one, which includes:
- premature deaths;
- absenteeism related to illness;
- presenteeism, meaning reduced productivity due to illness.
According to data, NCDs account for 71% of the total disease burden in the country. Every year in Kyrgyzstan, they cause 28,800 deaths, which constitutes 83% of all fatalities.
Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for half (50.4%) of all deaths related to NCDs.
The main types of NCDs include cardiovascular diseases (including heart attack and stroke), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma), as well as diabetes.
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Risks Associated with NCDs in Kyrgyzstan
Smoking: 25.7% of the adult population (aged 24 to 64 years) smoke daily, among them 2.7% are women and 48.2% are men; 10.1% use smokeless tobacco.
Alcohol Abuse: 44.8% of men and 17.7% of women consume alcohol, with 22.8% of men abusing it.
Poor Nutrition: 74% of adults (aged 24 to 64 years) do not consume enough fruits and vegetables. The level of salt consumption in the country is one of the highest in the world: the standardized norm is 5.18 grams per day for people over 20 years old.
Lack of Physical Activity: 11.4% of adults (aged 25 to 64 years) do not engage in physical activity at the level recommended for maintaining health (less than 150 minutes per week). This figure is higher among women and urban populations.
Experts believe that investments in proven and cost-effective intervention measures can significantly reduce the burden of NCDs, thereby increasing the length and quality of life and reducing the economic burden on the country.
Every 1 som invested in NCD prevention can yield more than 10 soms in economic benefits.
Such investments are expected to restore productivity equivalent to 34.4 billion soms and, over 15 years, help prevent thousands of new cases of NCDs and save more than 87,000 lives.
Among the recommendations are:
- Increasing taxes on alcohol and tobacco to reduce their availability and consumption, as well as to increase revenues directed towards funding NCD prevention, training healthcare workers, and protecting against high healthcare costs;
- Strengthening information and educational campaigns aimed at reducing salt consumption.
We remind you that a mission from the World Health Organization has started in Kyrgyzstan, aimed at developing a strategy for the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
