Noncommunicable Diseases
Noncommunicable Diseases
Noncommunicable Diseases
Heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes – these and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for
70 percent of all deaths worldwide. They can be attributed to genetic, physiological, environmental, and
behavioral factors.
Education plays a role in the prevention of NCDs, helping populations understand and change lifestyle
factors such as poor diets, inactivity, tobacco use, or alcohol consumption. But there is also a correlation
between income level and the prevalence of NCDs.
Nearly three-quarters of NCD-related deaths worldwide occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Reducing the number of NCDs globally means reducing the factors that disproportionately arise in
lower-income communities.
The ever-growing list of global health issues can be overwhelming, but don’t lose hope. There are
motivated, passionate, and intelligent individuals working toward solutions in organizations built on the
idea that every individual and every voice matters in the advancement of global health.
So how can you play a role? “Everyone can make a difference. Small contributions quickly add up if
enough people take up the cause,” Macpherson asserts.
One suggestion is to expand your perspective on medicine by attending global health speaking events,
taking part in one of these organizations, or pursuing an international education, particularly if you are a
practicing MD or a prospective medical student.
At SGU, we are committed to empowering our students to help improve global health at a local level. In
fact, we offer options for our medical students to earn a dual-degree, combining our Doctor of Medicine
(MD) program with our Master of Public Health (MPH) program. This MD/MPH degree gives students a
unique perspective on integrating medical care at both the holistic and patient levels.
Learn how others are putting this training to use across the globe in our article, "9 SGU Medical Grads
Who Are Improving Patients' Lives Around the World."
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Growing concerns about the environment center on climate change and air pollution. But how will these
challenges directly affect the health of the human population? In most cases, the answer lies in water
sources and sanitation.
When basic survival needs are disrupted by devastating storms, flooding, droughts, and air pollution,
diseases are more easily spread across large groups of people. The immediate solution is to provide
resources like bottled water, sanitation technology and education, but global health must also focus on
the prevention of environmental challenges in the first place.
“Climate change is thought by many global health experts to be the greatest threat to human health,”
Macpherson says. “Global policies to mitigate mankind’s contribution to climate change are gaining
traction.”
He points to legislation in China, India, the US, and many European countries as evidence of this. They
are introducing policies that regulate current vehicle use and individual household energy consumption
on a large scale while encouraging industry progress toward environmentally conscious practices.
“Such changes will have profound health benefits for those who live in urban centers, which account for
more than 50 percent of the world’s population,” Macpherson explains. “[They] cannot be implemented
soon enough.”
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung
disease, are collectively responsible for almost 70% of all deaths worldwide. Almost three quarters of all
NCD deaths, and 82% of the 16 million people who died prematurely, or before reaching 70 years of age,
occur in low- and middle-income countries.
The rise of NCDs has been driven by primarily four major risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, the
harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets.
The epidemic of NCDs poses devastating health consequences for individuals, families and communities,
and threatens to overwhelm health systems. The socioeconomic costs associated with NCDs make the
prevention and control of these diseases a major development imperative for the 21st century.
WHO’s mission is to provide leadership and the evidence base for international action on surveillance,
prevention and control of NCDs. Urgent government action is needed to meet global targets to reduce
the burden of NCDs.
Diabetes. More than three-fourths of the respondents (77 percent) from the Philippines believe that
diabetes is inherited from their parents. About 32 percent of those who were included in the survey are
willing to change their diet to support a member of their family with diabetes, and 47 percent are willing
to exercise with a diabetic family member.
These findings were part of the five-year Sun Life Financial Asia Diabetes Awareness Study in the region.
It was conducted in October 2018 through online interviews with 3,860 respondents aged 25 years old
and above in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
“The study aims at understanding the public’s awareness of diabetes and identify the gaps in preventive
measures they are willing to take to combat this prevalent health challenge,” said Jeremy Young, Sun
Life Financial Asia’s chief marketing officer.
To think, the Philippines has one of the highest number of diabetics in the region. “The number of
Filipinos with diabetes is growing at an alarming rate,” wrote Anne Ruth de la Cruz in an article
published in BusinessMirror. “The numbers, however, could be higher than reported because there are
Filipinos who have not been diagnosed with the disease.”
With the current population at over 100 million, the Philippines has more than 5 million diagnosed
diabetes.
“If nothing is done to stem the alarming trend,” de la Cruz wrote, “the prevalence of diabetes is
expected to soar to 20 percent by the year 2045, and more than 100,000 Filipinos would be dying every
year due to its complications.”
2 Tuberculosis. Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, was in exile in
the United States when he died of tuberculosis (TB) at Saranac Lake, New York, on August 1, 1944.
Seventy-four years later, TB is still around killing 73 Filipinos every day, according to Dr. Willie T. Ong,
who writes a regular column for a national daily.
The Philippines ranked eighth among the 30 countries with the largest number of TB cases in the world,
as per 2016 Global Tuberculosis Report.
“Each person with active TB can spread the disease to 10 other Filipinos each year! This is alarming since
there are between 200,000 and 600,000 Filipinos with active TB. Multiply this by 10, and just imagine
how much TB is being spread yearly,” said Ong, an internist-cardiologist.
Even if new TB cases are treated immediately, it would not still be able to stop the spread of the disease;
Dr. Aamir Khan told the audience who attended this year’s annual convention of the Philippine Against
Tuberculosis.
“People who are already infected will continue to become future TB disease cases and spread the
disease further. Shrinking that reservoir of people who are infected with TB is the only way to stop the
epidemic,” Khan, an epidemiologist and executive director of the Karachi-based Interactive Research
and Development, was quoted as saying by the BusinessMirror in a recent news report.
3 Dengue. “Dengue is always a threat to the entire community whole year round, but most importantly
during the rainy months when peak of cases occurs,” said the Philippine Children’s Medical Center
(PCMC) in a statement recently.
The reason PCMC issued the statement is because of the five doctors who contracted dengue died. “We
mourn the terrible loss that we suffered recently with the death of one of our fellows due to severe
dengue,” it said. “The other four had fully recovered.”
There are actually two types of dengue: dengue and severe dengue. The latter, also known as dengue
hemorrhagic fever, was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines.
Before 1970, only nine countries had experienced severe dengue epidemics. The disease is now endemic
in more than 100 countries, with Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific regions as among the most
seriously affected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Measles. With vaccine available for measles, the acute bacterial respiratory infection should have been
part of history already—but such is not the case.
In fact, it has returned as a major public health threat. In Davao City, for instance, 22 of the 45 people
who were confirmed with measles died. EDGE Davao reporter Ralph Lawrence Llemit reported: “The
Davao City Health Office has recorded a total number of 602 suspected measles cases during the first
three quarters of 2018, ending in September. During the period in review, 22 of the 45 confirmed cases
died of the disease.”
But it’s not only in Davao City where cases of measles surged. It is happening all over the country.
According to Dr. Ana Lisa Ong-Lim, head of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of the Philippines,
more than half—69 percent, that is—of children with measles this year “proved to have had no
immunization, for reasons such as their parents’ refusal,” Reuters reported.
The international dispatch quoted the lady physician saying that politics behind the controversial anti-
dengue vaccine could be “partly blamed for the low trust in the government’s mass immunization
program.” There were instances where health workers doing the program were labeled as “killers” in
some areas.
Dr. Lulu Bravo, of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, was very alarmed with this recent
development. In a meeting on media reporting on vaccines, she was quoted as saying: “We have almost
eradicated measles, but we are now seeing a rise in cases, because the trust in vaccines is declining this
year. This is disturbing.”
5 HIV/AIDS. In 2008 two people per day were diagnosed of having the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), according to the records released by the Epidemiology Bureau of the Department of Health. Since
then, the number of Filipinos being infected with HIV daily surged.
Every day, seven people were infected in 2011, 13 in 2013 and 22 in 2015. For this year, the number of
people diagnosed daily with HIV is 32. HIV is the precursor of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS).
“Our country has the fastest-growing HIV infection rate in the Asia-Pacific region,” bares Dr. Louie Mar
A. Gangcuangco, an infectious disease researcher whose expertise in HIV field is recognized
internationally. “This is something we should be very concerned about.”
Not only that. The Philippines “has also become one of the eight countries that account for more than
85 percent of new infections in the region,” stated a report from the United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS).
The exponential increase in HIV infection in the country, according to Gangcuangco, is “very alarming
because the people who are affected are mostly young individuals.”
In February 2018, for instance, about 871 new HIV cases were recorded by the HIV/AIDS and ART
Registry of the Philippines. The median age among those reported cases was 27 years old. Half of those
infected were 24 to 35 years old and 29 percent were 15 to 24 years old at the time of testing.
Cervical cancer. Every day, cervical cancer kills 12 Filipinos, mostly women. Although it does not spared
men, cervical cancer is women’s enemy number two. “In the Philippines, cervical cancer is second to
breast cancer as the most common malignancy that afflicts and kills women,” reports Dr. Cecilia Ladines-
Llave, former chairman of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute.
Between breast cancer and cervical cancer, the latter is the deadlier. As Rina Jimenez-David, a
recognized advocate in reproductive health, puts it: “While breast cancer is the most common form of
cancer for women in the country, it is not the most deadly. The death toll from cervical cancer is higher
than for breast cancer, and this is mainly because by the time its victims come for treatment, it is
already too late.”
Women should have themselves check for cervical cancer before it’s too late. “We have got good
treatments for cervical cancer especially if we detect it early, in which state it becomes definitely
curable. This is why screening is very important,” said Prof. Ian Frazer, a clinical immunologist and
currently the chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation’s Medical Research Advisory
Committee. “The problem arises if a woman waits until she finds she is sick of cervical cancer, wherein
by that time, the disease is so advanced that is already becomes incurable.”
Alcoholism. Alcohol kills more than HIV/AIDS, violence and road accidents combined, according to the
recent report released by the United Nations health agency.
The report said HIV/AIDS is responsible for 1.8 percent of global deaths, road injuries for 2.5 percent and
violence for 0.8 percent. In comparison, the harmful use of alcohol kills more than 3 million people each
year. That’s about 1 in 20 deaths—and most of them belong to the male species. “More than three
quarters of these deaths were among men,” pointed out the WHO report, Global Status Report On
Alcohol And Health 2018.
The WHO report represents a comprehensive picture of alcohol consumption and the disease burden
attributable to alcohol around the world. “Overall, the harmful use of alcohol causes more than 5
percent of the global disease burden,” it said.
The United Nations health agency said that alcohol consumption causes death and disability relatively
early in life. In the age group 20 to 39 years, for instance, approximately 13.5 percent of the total deaths
can be attributed to alcohol.
The report said that the harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 disease and injury
conditions. “Drinking alcohol is associated with a risk of developing health problems such as mental and
behavioral disorders, including alcohol dependence, major noncommunicable diseases such as liver
cirrhosis, some cancers and cardiovascular diseases, as well as injuries resulting from violence and road
clashes and collisions,” the WHO explained.
8 Medical marijuana. A day after President R. Duterte joked about using marijuana to keep him awake;
he again reiterated his approval for the legalization of medical marijuana.
A couple of years back, the President replied when asked by a television reporter on the subject:
“Medical marijuana, yes, because it is really an ingredient of modern medicine. There are medicines
being developed, or are now in the market, that contain marijuana for medical purposes.”
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo explained that the President was in favor of “controlled” and
“regulated use of marijuana for medical purposes.” The President, however, strongly opposed to the use
of marijuana as a recreational drug.
Newsweek believes 2018 will go down in history as “a year of global change. This is as far marijuana—
known in the science world as Cannabis sativa—is concerned.
“We’ve seen massive changes overtake a global cannabis culture already establishing itself at a
remarkable pace,” the American magazine pointed out. “Canada has joined Uruguay as the second
country in the world to legalize cannabis for adult use, markets in the US are growing with every election
season, and even countries like Lebanon—whose long-standing diplomatic efforts with the West and its
drug warriors caused a long tradition of excellent cannabis to fall by the wayside—are rethinking their
relationship to the plant.”
Former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan, like the President, is in favor of the legalization of medical
marijuana. His reason: “More people in the Philippines are suffering from epilepsy and other
neurological disorders. It is safer and cheaper way to treat patients.”
DENGUE
On 6 August, the Department of Health declared a dengue epidemic. With nearly 361,000 dengue cases
recorded and 1,373 deaths, the current dengue epidemic is the largest in the last ten years, or since the
disease has been monitored in the Philippines.
DIPHTHERIA
Almost 200 cases of diphtheria were reported by the Department of Health for the period from 1
January to 5 October 2019, an increase of 47 per cent compared to the same period in 2018. A
significant number of diphtheria cases were reported in the National Capital Region, Region IV-A and
Cordillera Autonomous Region.
MEASLES
In February 2019, the Department of Health declared a measles outbreak in five regions in the country,
including Metro Manila. From 1 January to 12 October 2019, over 42,400 cases were reported by DOH.
Severe complications from measles have also claimed the lives of over 560 people. As of 25 October, the
reported cases of measles are declining as well as the case fatality rate.
POLIO
On 19 September, the Department of Health confirmed the re-emergence of polio in the Philippines and
declared a national polio outbreak. As of 25 October, thirteen environmental samples and three human
samples of vaccine-derived polio virus have been confirmed. Between October 2019 and January 2020,
4.4 million children under 5 years of age will be vaccinated through vaccination campaigns.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. This
new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.
On 30 January 2020, the Philippine Department of Health reported the first case of COVID-19 in the
country with a 38-year-old female Chinese national. On 7 March, the first local transmission of COVID-19
was confirmed. WHO is working closely with the Department of Health in responding to the COVID-19
outbreak.
Out of the 90 million people living in the Philippines, many do not get access to basic care. The country
has a high maternal and newborn mortality rate, and a high fertility rate. This creates problems for those
who have especially limited access to this basic care or for those living in generally poor health
conditions.
Sun Life Financial Asia’s Diabetes Awareness Study 2018 reveals a gap in the understanding of diabetes
and how to prevent and manage the condition
The second annual 5-market study shows an improvement in the public’s understanding of multiple
types of diabetes
Many are unwilling to support a diabetic family member by making dietary changes such as adopting a
low sugar or low-carbohydrates diet
There is a wide understanding that annual screening of diabetes is necessary but a gap in people taking
preventative measures
[Hong Kong, November 13, 2018] The latest Sun Life Financial Asia Diabetes Awareness Study themed
“Family and Diabetes” reveals that although there is an improvement in awareness and understanding
of Type 2 diabetes overall since the 2017 study, there is a substantial gap between this understanding
and the number of people actually taking preventative measures against diabetes, such as undertaking
diabetes screening.
82% of respondents in Asia are aware that there is more than one type of diabetes, which has slightly
increased since 2017 (77%). Hong Kong (from 71% in 2017 to 83% in 2018) and Vietnam (from 69% in
2017 to 86% in 2018) are the markets which have seen substantial improvement in diabetes awareness
levels.
Commenting on the findings, Jeremy Young, Chief Marketing Officer, Sun Life Financial Asia, said: “It is
encouraging to see an improvement in the public’s understanding of diabetes across the five Asian
markets in this year’s Diabetes Awareness Survey. Sun Life, as a leading international financial services
and asset management organization with a strategic focus on promoting awareness, prevention and
management of diabetes to help people live healthier lives, has commissioned this year’s study to echo
the theme of the 2018 World Diabetes Day – “The Family and Diabetes”. The study aims at
understanding the public’s awareness of diabetes and identify the gaps in preventive measures they are
willing to take to combat this prevalent health challenge.”
Is diabetes hereditary?
Regionally, 53% of respondents believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents. The majority of
respondents from the Philippines, 77%, believe that diabetes is related to inheritance from parents,
which is the highest score amongst the five markets. However, only 30% of respondents from Vietnam
believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents, a drop of 9% from 2017.
According to the World Health Organization[1], Type 2 diabetes can be caused by genetic and
environmental risk factors such as poor diet or lack of exercise. Studies have also revealed that first
degree relatives of individuals with Type 2 diabetes are more likely to, but not necessarily will, develop
the disease. However, recognizing the risk factors and adopting lifestyle changes can delay or prevent
diabetes from occurring.
Growing understanding of early detection through annual screening but lack of action
90% of respondents in the region agree that diabetes screening is necessary[2], but only 67% of
respondents were screened for diabetes, revealing a significant gap in those taking preventive action. In
particular, less respondents from Hong Kong (72%) and Chinese ethnic groups in the region (78%) think
it is necessary to have annual screening for Type 2 diabetes with their family. More Hong Kong
respondents (47%) than in other markets claim to have never been screened for diabetes before. This
compares with 33% regionally who have never been screened and only 18% in Vietnam who have not.
More Hong Kong respondents (21%) think that there is no need to screen children for diabetes
compared to only 10% regionally, despite increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes among children[3].
Additionally, Hong Kong respondents believe diabetes screening should only be necessary once a child is
over 13 years old on average, whereas regionally the accepted age is a year younger at just over 12
years old.
Belinda Au, General Manager, Distribution and Marketing, Sun Life Hong Kong Limited, said: “With the
purpose of helping people lead healthier lives, and being an advocate of having an active lifestyle, we
will host the Sun Life Resolution Run 2019 in Hong Kong, a family fun run event for all ages, on 27
January 2019. Diabetes Hongkong has been named as the beneficiary of the Sun Life Resolution Run
2019, and it will receive HK$20 from every race registration.”
Encouraging support for diabetic family members by taking up a low-carbohydrates or sugar diet
Regionally, there is an increase in understanding of how a diet high in carbohydrates and not just a high-
sugar diet is a risk factor for diabetes. In the 2017 study, only 51% cited a high-carbohydrates or starchy
diet being a risk factor for diabetes compared to the 67% this year, which shows respondents are
becoming more knowledgeable on the risks which lead to diabetes. However, despite this
understanding, only 38% of respondents are willing to take up a low sugar or low-carbohydrates diet
with diabetic family members.
END
The Sun Life Financial Asia Diabetes Awareness Study is a five-market regional study, inaugurated in
2017, focused on measuring the public’s understanding and perception towards diabetes. The research
was conducted by Ipsos, an independent market research house, in October 2018 through online
interviews with 3,860 respondents aged 25 years old and above in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, and Vietnam.
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth
and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in
a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland,
Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and
Bermuda. As of September 30, 2018, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$984
billion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock
exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.
Notes to editors:
World Health Organization – “Genetics and Diabetes” (p.1 and p.6)
According to World Health Organization’s “Global Report on Diabetes”, in terms of screening for Type 2
diabetes, some evidence suggests there are benefits to early detection and treatment, largely because
the reduced lead time between onset and diagnosis speeds the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors.
(p.48)
Center for Health Protection and Department of Health - “Non-Communicable Diseases Watch” (p.2)
Appendix - Highlights of Sun Life Financial Asia Diabetes Awareness Study 2018
Hong Kong
41% of Hong Kong respondents believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents.
Hong Kong respondents estimated that 1 in 4 of the local population is diabetic (23%). In reality, 1 in 10
people in Hong Kong have diabetes, according to the Hong Kong Primary Care Office, Department of
Health.
While diabetes is perceived to be a wide spread health issue, only 53% of respondents have been
screened for diabetes.
While 61% of respondents believe lack of physical activity or exercise is a contributing factor for
diabetes, only 28% of respondents are willing to exercise with a diabetic family member.
Indonesia
68% of respondents in Indonesia believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents, which is much
higher than the regional average of 53%.
While the most widely thought of contributing factors for diabetes are having a
high-carbohydrates/starchy diet (78%) and the lack of physical activity or exercise (64%), only less than
half of respondents (49%) are willing to exercise with a diabetic family member and 35% of respondents
are willing to change their diet to support a member of their family with diabetes.
97% of respondents from Indonesia think that screening for diabetes with family should take place at
least once a year, as compared to 90% regionally.
Malaysia
62% of respondents from Malaysia are aware that there is more than one type of diabetes.
50% of respondents are willing to change their diet to support a member of their family with diabetes,
as compared to 38% regionally, and 32% are willing to exercise with a diabetic family member.
Most respondents know that a high-carbohydrates diet (63%), in addition to lack of exercise (53%) is a
high risk factor for diabetes.
93% of the respondents think that screening for diabetes is necessary, as compared to 90% of
respondents from the region, but 27% have never been screened for diabetes before.
The Philippines
77% of respondents from the Philippines believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents.
32% of respondents are willing to change their diet to support a member of their family with diabetes,
and 47% are willing to exercise with a diabetic family member.
Most people know that a high-carbohydrates diet (76%), in addition to lack of exercise (65%) is a high
risk factor for diabetes.
95% of respondents from the Philippines think that screening for diabetes is necessary, as compared to
90% regionally.
Vietnam
30% of respondents from Vietnam believe that diabetes is inherited from their parents. Vietnam is the
market with the lowest score in 2018.
Over 70% of respondents felt that a high-carbohydrates diet or sugar-rich diet are contributing factors
for developing Type 2 diabetes. However, only 36% of respondents are willing to make dietary changes
with a member of their family with diabetes.
Vietnam had the highest percentage (78%) of respondents citing lack of physical activity/exercise as the
top contributing factor for diabetes. However, only 42% are willing to exercise with a diabetic family
member.
82%of respondents have been screened for diabetes, as compared to the regional average of 67%.
The study shows that 30 per cent of Asian women who are or were pregnant in the past three years are
unaware of the risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy. In Vietnam, this rate is 43 per
cent, relatively high compared to the region.
Accordingly, 31 per cent of respondents in the region do not know there is more than one type of
diabetes. Hong Kong, one of the most developed markets in the survey, has the lowest level of
awareness with 40 per cent of respondents not knowing this fact. Vietnamese respondents show a
similar rate with 38 per cent.
The survey also finds that respondents believe diabetes decreases life expectancy by 19 years on
average, when in fact the average is between 10 and 12 years, showing a significant gap between
perception and reality. However, Vietnamese respondents made an accurate estimate of 11 years.
“The Sun Life Financial Asia diabetes awareness study was conducted to demystify this chronic disease,
aiming to bridge the knowledge gap and promote a positive change in the perception of diabetes,
helping people live healthier,” said Larry Madge, chief executive officer of Sun Life Vietnam.
Regarding the financial impact, about half of the respondents from Vietnam (51 per cent), the
Philippines (50 per cent), and Hong Kong (49 per cent) believe that diabetes represents a burden on
public healthcare systems.
Respondents from Vietnam estimate the annual treatment costs for each patient to stand at VND28.6
million, which represents 55 per cent of Vietnam’s GDP per capita. This is the most extreme case in the
region.
The study also reveals the public’s bias towards diabetics and strong associations with unflattering
characteristics, such as dangerous driving (37 per cent), laziness (38 per cent), lack of energy (62 per
cent), not being athletic (43 per cent), and having mood swings (43 per cent). In Vietnam, 23 per cent
respondents think people with diabetes should not have children and 61 per cent think diabetics cannot
donate blood.
The Sun Life Financial Asia diabetes awareness study is a five-market regional study on the public
understanding and perception of diabetes. The research was conducted by Ipsos, an independent
market research house, in late September 2017 through online interviews with 2,119 Asians aged
between 25 and 60 in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The samples include the general public, diabetics, and women who currently are, or were pregnant in
the past three years.
POLIO
On 19 September, the Department of Health confirmed the re-emergence of polio in the Philippines and
declared a national polio outbreak. As of 25 October, thirteen environmental samples and three human
samples of vaccine-derived polio virus have been confirmed. Between October 2019 and January 2020,
4.4 million children under 5 years of age will be vaccinated through vaccination campaigns.