New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS): The UN General Assembly has adopted a political declaration on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart ailments and cancer which together kill some 36 million people annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

"Governments agreed on the need for global targets to monitor these diseases and their risk factors like tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol," the WHO said in a statement here.

The UN General Assembly has asked WHO to develop a framework for monitoring global progress and to prepare, before the end of 2012, recommendations for a set of global targets to monitor trends and assess the progress in countries to reduce the impact of these diseases.

However, success will depend on the engagement of non-health sectors such as finance, agriculture, transportation, urban development and trade, it added.

Governments have been asked to integrate policies to reduce non-communicable diseases into health planning and national development agendas.

"The declaration is a clear signal that global leaders acknowledge the devastating impact of non-communicable diseases worldwide and that they are committed to reducing it. The next step is to act on those commitments," it added.