Policy makers need help prioritizing societal investments to improve the health of the populations they serve. In particular, the explosive increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions has led the World Health Organization to set global targets to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by 25 percent by 2025. To meet these goals, economics is essential – as policymakers require analyses to inform decision making.
On February 10, 2017, the fourth annual colloquium of the Global Health Economics Consortium (GHECon), “The Economics of Non-Communicable Diseases,” will bring together local, U.S., and international leaders to address these challenges and opportunities in the field of global health and the methods used to evaluate the economics of non-communicable diseases.
Rachel Nugent of RTI Seattle, and a global leader on NCD control and economics, will discuss how to make the case for investments in NCDs: what evidence and arguments are policy-makers looking for? She will also describe challenges in estimating the costs of NCDs and the impact of foreign aid.
Professor Gillian Sanders of Duke University, co-chair of the Second U.S. Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine, will describe the panel’s recent recommendations for expansion of cost-effectiveness to consider broader health and societal effects, and other methodological refinements.
“Please join us to discuss recent developments in the fields of cost-effectiveness analysis and the economics of NCDs. Drawing upon NCD case-studies from around the world, we will explore how high-quality economic evaluations can inform decision-making at regional and national levels,” said James G. Kahn, MD, MPH, director of the Global Health Economics Consortium (GHECon) at UCSF. Kahn is a professor of health policy and epidemiology at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Global Health Sciences.
The GHECon Colloquium will bring together researchers, policymakers, and trainees in an informal and interactive setting. The sessions will be held at UCSF Mission Bay in Genentech Hall, Byers Auditorium, on Friday, February 10, from 8:30am to 5:00pm, with a reception to follow. Cost is $15 for students, $60 faculty and staff, $90 private sector. You can purchase tickets at ghecon2017.eventbrite.com.
For more information, contact Devon McCabe at GHECON@ucsf.edu.