Planeación Local para enfrentar el Desafío de las Enfermedades Crónicas en Pasto, Colombia

Abstract

Chronic diseases are an increasing public health problem in the world. In countries such as Colombia, these diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Taking into account this situation, several organizations have recommended planning and conducting actions to prevent chronic diseases; however, there are scarce initiatives addressed to this purpose that reflect a reality that has been named as the "neglected epidemic of chronic diseases". This article describes the formulation of a local plan for the prevention of chronic diseases in the city of Pasto, Colombia, where a planning model developed by the World Health Organization was used. The goal of this plan is to reduce in the following 10 years the prevalence of the 3 main risk factors of chronic disease to 5-10%, addressing the actions in public policies, contexts for daily life, health services and the generation of evidence to make decisions. This experience shows the importance and feasibility of this process at the local context and identifies the coordination with the national level as one of the main challenges to be considered to carry out these initiatives.