NCD-FLAG-PRO-2_Invitation_Kaliningrad_30May-01June_2011

25April2011

NDPHS Expert Group on

Non-Communicable Diseasesrelated to Lifestyles and Social and Work Environments,

Meeting venue: to be informed later

Subject:INVITATION to the 2nd Project planning meeting for NCD Flagship projects ("A&B")

Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, 30 May – 1 June 2011

To:

  • NDPHS Contact Persons
  • Nominated NCD Expert Group members
  • Invited ad hoc NCD specialists

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to the 2nd Project planning meeting for NCD Flagship projects ("A&B") in Kaliningrad, Russian Federation, 30 May – 1 June 2011

As part of the implementation of NDPHS Action Plan 2011, the NCD EG has promised to facilitate the elaboration of project plans, promote their start up and organize eventual monitoring of progress of tentatively two Flagship-projects in the NCD-prevention area:

1)FLAGSHIP-A Project on healthy nutrition, prevention and correction of overweight and obesity, promotion of physical activity among school-aged children[1] (7 – 15).

2)FLAGSHIP-B Project on health policy and strategy facilitation for NDP countries(“Stop NCD-epidemic now!: Health policy and strategy support to combat NCD and hazardous and harmful lifestyle epidemic in Northern Dimension geographical area”)[2].

The preparatory work which started in Saint Petersburg 23-25 March will continue now as planned on Monday 30 May 2011 in Kaliningrad through thesecond project planning meeting (together with Flagship A and B).

The coordinating institute for Flagship-Project-A is WHO-EURO (Copenhagen/Denmark and for Flagship-Project-Bthe Nordic School of Public Health (Gothenburg/Sweden). See project concept papers A and B as prepared in Saint Petersburg and available among NCD-FLAG-PRO-2 meeting documents. Further background information can be found in the minutes of the NCD-FLAG-PRO-2 meeting and also in the NCD Expert Group Terms of Reference 2010 – 2013 and NCD Expert Group Action Plan 2011 also eventually to be found among NCD-FLAG-PRO-2 meeting documents.

The meeting organization will be supported by NDPHS Secretariat and the Delegation of the European Union to Russia.

The NCD-FLAG-PRO-2 meeting provisional programme is provided as separate annex of this invitation.

The NCD-FLAG-PRO-1 meeting documents will be kept updated on website.

Following the NDPHS practice, we encourage those participants to the NCD-FLAG-PRO-2 meeting who have an opportunity to get travel expenses covered by their respective employers or ministries to do so as first option. However, meals are provided free of charge to all participants during the meeting. For experts, who are not able to get travel support otherwise, the secretariat has an opportunity to negotiate for direct travel and hotel expenses to be covered. However, per diem, local terminal expenses (airport transportation) or visa expenses could not be included. With several potential meeting participants we have already started the process for travel support. Should you need to raise this issue, please contact NCD-ITA Marja Tuomi ( )as soon as possible in order to provide you precise information and to start the process early enough.

If you are in need of an invitation for a visa to enter Russia, please see further instructions on the meeting webpage.

The 2nd Project planning meeting for NCD Flagship projects ("A&B") will starton Monday, May 30th, from 16:00 hours and last until Wednesday, 01 June at 12:00 hours, in Kaliningrad.Further practical information and meeting documents will be posted on in due time.In order to confirm your participation you are kindly asked to fill in the registration form on the above mentioned meeting page no later than Friday 20th May.

This invitation is also sent to the NDPHS national and organization counterparts, who are further encouraged to identify suitable expertsfrom their country / organization to this important meeting, especially if they would like to see their country as potential implementing partner for the NCD Flagship projects in the future.

We are looking forward to meeting you in Kaliningrad!

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Mikko Vienonen
Chairman
Expert Group on Non-Communicable Diseases related to Lifestyles
and Social and Work Environments
(NCD EG)
E-mail:

Mobile +358 50442 1877
Address:
Sysimiehenkuja 1, FI-00670 Helsinki, Finland / Ms Marja Tuomi
International Technical Advisor
Expert Group on Non-Communicable Diseases related to Lifestyles
and Social and Work Environments
(NCD EG)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health/
E-mail:

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Address:
Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, FIN-00250 Helsinki
Finland
Tel. +358 30 4742929
Mobile + 358 43 8245314
Fax +358 30 4742629

ANNEXES (to be found on :

ANNEX 1: Draft provisional programme of the 2nd Project planning meeting for NCD Flagship projects ("A&B").

ANNEX 2: Draft Project Concept of FLAGSHIP-AProject (updated in Saint Petersburg in March) on healthy nutrition, prevention and correction of overweight and obesity, promotion of physical activity among school-aged children (7 – 15).

ANNEX 3: Draft Project Concept of FLAGSHIP-B Project (updated in Saint Petersburg in March) on health policy and strategy facilitation for NDP countries(“Stop NCD-epidemic now!: Health policy and strategy support to combat NCD and hazardous and harmful lifestyle epidemic in Northern Dimension geographical area.

ANNEX 4: Terms of Reference of NCD Expert Group 2010 - 2013

ANNEX 5: NDPHS Work Plan for 2011 (including NCD EG Work Plan on pages 23-27)

1

[1] FLAGSHIP-A: Food and nutrition plays a hugely important role in causing and preventing many diseases. In Northern Dimension Area cardio-vascular diseases are linked with too much animal fat and salt and too little fruit and vegetables in our diets. Yet, some of our countries can show excellent results through population based dietary changes, which encourages the project to facilitate the changes in countries still lagging behind. A common nutritional danger is the intake of more food than we need, leading into obesity and eventually to type-2 diabetes, hypertension, arthrosis and many other complications, loss of quality of life and premature disability and death. Overweight (obesity), lack of physical activity, low fruit and vegetable intake, high cholesterol and blood glucose is a combination of interlinked problems, which competes on the questionable highest ranking positionamong public health threats with alcohol and tobacco in Northern Dimension countries. Childhoodand youthare crucial periods when nutritional and physical activity habits are formed. Hence, our primary focus should be in children and young adults.

[2] FLAGSHIP-B: Presently the international community globally and in Europe is in the process of scaling up action against NCDs. WHO is leading this process. Recent policy documents provide undisputable evidence that NCDs cause immense human suffering through premature disease and disability and death. The calculations on huge economic losses and burden to our societies provide an additional imperative to tackle this problem, where short term commercial interest and profiteering has tried to camouflage the long term losses to life and productivity. Firstly, we need to demonstrate systematically the importance of life lost prematurely due to preventable causes in our Northern Dimension Area. Secondly, we need to increase our involvement in the European health policy and strategy process closely collaborating and supporting WHO-EURO. Thirdly, as part of NCD-Flagship project, improve methods for management of change locally, nationally and regionally to stop the NCD-epidemic among our working aged population.