Meeting on Advancing Economics for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in the Americas (Washington, D.C., 31 August - 1 September 2016)

Abstract

[Introduction]: In November 2011, PAHO held the first meeting jointly with WHO, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), PHAC and the Ministry of Health of Mexico, to consider the latest efforts in the Region to generate evidence. Diverse initiatives were proposed, including preparing different materials to guide countries on using models and data for health and economic policy analysis on NCDs, and a review of the evidence on and methodological issues related to the link between NCDs and catastrophic health expenditures. The second regional workshop was held in Washington, D.C., in June 2013, as part of a collaboration with the Disease Control Priorities Project (DCP3). The participants reviewed the latest advances on the economic dimensions of NCDs in the Region of the Americas, and they identified which researchers in the Region would contribute to the contents of the publication that will feed into the next DCP version. The Third Regional Workshop on Economic Aspects and NCDs in the Americas took place 24–25 August 2015, with one of its objectives being to identify priorities for economic analyses on NCDs and their risk factors through collaborations among the various institutions. The meeting discussions led to suggestions for a new research agenda to be developed in partnership with other organizations and support for the establishment of an informal expert group on the economics of NCDs.