International health and business leaders will gather in a forum at Emory University to explore approaches to address the growing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide.
 
"Financing Global Chronic Disease Care and Prevention" will take place at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health on Aug. 21, 2013 from 5:30-7 p.m. The event is free and open to students, faculty, and the public. A simulcast is available at:
 
http://mediasite.sph.emory.edu/Mediasite/Play/74b53d54e53847108179caebd52d247b1d
 
The forum's panel comprises leading global experts. Discussion will focus on public, private, and mixed models for financial global chronic disease prevention and care.

• Moderator: K.M. Venkat Narayan, MD, MSc, MBA, Ruth and O.C. Hubert Chair of Global Health and professor of medicine and epidemiology. Narayan is regarded as a national and international leader in chronic diseases and translational research.
• K. Srinath Reddy, MD, MSc, DM, is president of the Public Health Foundation of India. A world leader in cardiovascular disease epidemiology, Reddy is deeply engaged with healthcare reform and the establishment of universal healthcare coverage in India, and spearheads a major initiative to develop public health capacity in India.
• Jagdish Sheth, PhD., MBA, is Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing at Emory's Goizueta Business School and a world-leading expert on consumer behavior, competitive strategy, and emerging markets. He is widely regarded as a knowledgeable speaker and will offer intriguing insights regarding market-driven health care.
• George A. Mensah, MD, FACC, is a senior advisor at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. For close to a decade, he led the CDC's efforts to combat stroke and heart disease before taking a position at PepsiCo to serve as director of heart health and global health policy and vice president for global R&D nutrition.
• Jeffrey P. Koplan, MD, MPH, is vice president for global health at Emory University and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Over his career, Koplan has worked across the spectrum of public health, including key engagement in the areas of tobacco control and childhood obesity.

"We are holding this forum to provide an opportunity for the public to learn about innovations in addressing the issues, challenges, and options for chronic, non-communicable disease care and prevention worldwide, from experts on the font lines of research and policy. This is an opportunity to hold a candid, evidence-based conversation about the global problem of chronic disease – conditions that affect us all and require a multi-pronged approach."
 
Although largely preventable, chronic non-communicable diseases consume large chunks of health care resources worldwide, and health care alone will not be enough to address their continued growth. Prevention programs are playing an increasing role in NCD management, but key issues remain globally, including identifying appropriate means of financing, the case for equity versus efficiency, and ever-changing health and economic landscapes.
 
The forum is part of the Public Health Leadership and Implementation Academy for Non-Communicable Diseases (PH-LEADER). The PH-LEADER Academy was established and is supported by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health to develop public health leaders from low- and middle-income countries to engage in health systems strengthening and implementation sciences for non-communicable diseases.