ABSTRACT
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include diabetes, cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, obesity, and mental illness, have emerged as pandemics in recent years, with disproportionately higher rates in developing countries (Terzic and Waldman 2011). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that NCDs account for 80% of the global burden of disease, causing 7 out of every 10 deaths in the low-and middleincome countries (LMICs) of the world (WHO 2013). According to the WHO, it is estimated that the global NCD burden will increase by 17% in the next 10 years (WHO 2013).
