Professor Sally Casswell of the College of Health has recently increased her involvement with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Based at the SHORE & Whāriki Research Centre, Professor Casswell directs a WHO Collaborating Centre and has been reappointed several times as a member of the WHO Expert Panel on Alcohol and Drugs.
Now, Professor Casswell has been invited to join the newly established World Health Organization Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). NCDs accounted for 74 per cent of deaths globally in 2019 and have been increasing.
She says while the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted attention, NCDs remain a major source of premature mortality and include the ‘predisposing conditions’ of severe effects of COVID infection.
“I don’t look forward to the late-night Zooms but hope I can contribute in part by increasing attention to the need for good alcohol policy. It is recognised as a risk factor for NCDs but has received limited attention,” Professor Casswell says.