United Nations, April 28 (IANS) Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading killer today and are on the risee, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said here Wednesday.

"The rise of chronic NCDs presents an enormous challenge," Nesirky told reporters here, quoting the World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Margaret Chan as saying,

"For some countries, it is no exaggeration to describe the situation as an impending disaster; a disaster for health, for society, and most of all for national economies."

WHO issued the first global status report on NCDs Wednesday, which pointed out that 36.1 million people died in 2008 from conditions such as heart disease, strokes, chronic lung diseases, cancers and diabetes, with low- and middle-income countries accounting for nearly 80 percent of these deaths.

NCD is a medical condition or disease which is non-infectious. These are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. They include heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts , and more.