According to reports, Europe, US and Canada are delaying committing to ‘actions, timelines and outcomes at the U. N. summit on ‘non-communicable diseases’, which is only a few weeks away.

Also, the diseases cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases affect nearly all nations’ health as well as the global financial growth and stability. Hence, the world leaders who are now delaying might refuse committing, in terms of taking actions to prevent deaths.

Brian Ward, Policy Advisor for the European Respiratory Society, stated: “Despite the fact that the NCD burden is highest in Europe and the United States, these regions have also been very reluctant to commit any financial support to this UN process aimed at tackling the NCD epidemic”.

However, Europe, US and Canada resisting is said to suggest that everyone is on a ‘Pay-Later Plan’, and as the world's debt continues to surge, due to uncontained costs, more cost of preventable deaths, productivity loses, ill health, and economic stability, is being added to the ledger.

Ann Keeling, the Chair of the NCD Alliance and CEO of the International Diabetes Federation, expressed that wealthy nations are scared of covering majority of the bill for dealing with the chronic disease epidemic in impoverished nations, which is why they do not want to commit, as their economies are currently in a bad shape.