GENEVA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday released a new report urging cost-effective solutions to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and improve mental health, warning that global progress has slowed significantly.

The report, titled "Saving lives, spending less," includes new analysis of country-level efforts to reduce NCD mortality between 2010 and 2019. While 82 percent of countries cut premature NCD deaths during that period, the rate of improvement has slowed across most regions, and some nations have even seen a resurgence in NCD-related deaths.

WHO emphasized that NCDs remain the leading cause of death worldwide, while over 1 billion people live with mental health conditions. Nearly 75 percent of deaths linked to NCDs and mental health issues occur in low- and middle-income countries, accounting for about 32 million lives lost each year.

On Sept. 25, heads of state and government will meet in New York for the Fourth UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting (HLM4) on NCD prevention and control, aiming to adopt an ambitious Political Declaration to accelerate global action and investment.

NCDs include cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, while mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression affect people of all ages and income levels.

Although most countries reduced the risk of dying prematurely from an NCD between 2010 and 2019, 60 percent saw slower progress than in the previous decade. Denmark recorded the largest improvements for both sexes, while China, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, and Brazil also posted significant declines.

WHO called on governments, partners, and communities to speed up efforts to take cost-effective solutions, such as taxing tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks; strengthening primary health care for prevention, early detection, and treatment, and expanding access to essential medicines and technologies.

It noted that an additional investment of just three U.S. dollars per person per year in combating NCDs could yield economic benefits of up to 1 trillion dollars by 2030. ■