Newsroom
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC—Dr. Ishu Kataria, a senior public health researcher with RTI India, a wholly owned subsidiary of RTI International (RTI), has been appointed to serve on the steering committee for the newly launched World Health Organization (WHO) Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Lab on the Next Generation.'
The 15-member committee is comprised of forward-thinking researchers and executives working to address the global burden of NCDs. This group will strategically lead the efforts of the NCD Labs and the Next Generation, one of three NCD Labs initiatives, which aims to engage young people in the prevention and control of NCDs worldwide.
Every year, 40 million people around the world die of NCDs like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Many of these diseases are preventable, and two-thirds of premature NCD deaths among adults can be traced back to behaviors like tobacco use, alcohol consumption, poor eating habits, and physical inactivity initiated during youth and adolescence. Empowering youth to advocate for positive change is key to reducing NCDs, as they have a unique potential to reach their peers and communities.
The NCD Labs platform will offer an opportunity for young people to submit innovative ideas for approaches and initiatives that can be implemented at the community, national, regional, and global levels to accelerate progress towards achieving the target outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Goals of reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one third by 2030.
Dr. Kataria is part of RTI’s Center for Global NCDs and has over seven years of experience in NCD prevention and control in India and globally, with specializations in adolescent health, youth engagement, cancer prevention, and behavior change communication.
In addition to her work at RTI, Dr. Kataria is an NCD focal point for the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth, co-chair of the recently established Youth Coalition on NCDs, and serves as the Global Coordinator for the Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN)—a global nonprofit that works to mobilize young leaders worldwide to act against social injustice driven by NCDs.
RTI Center for Global NCDs
The RTI Center for Global NCDs leverages multidisciplinary technical expertise, research capacity, and programmatic experience to prevent and manage the negative health, economic, and social impacts of NCDs. We work in more than 40 countries around the world, partnering with governments, non-governmental organizations, private foundations, and multilateral organizations to confront NCDs in all stages, by designing, implementing, and evaluating policy, prevention, and treatment interventions.
For more information about how we are addressing the burden of NCDs globally, visit https://www.rti.org/ncds.
