Leveraging Mobile Phones for Monitoring Risks for Noncommunicable Diseases in the Future

One of the biggest contributors to preventable deaths isn't a health problem but a record-keeping problem—and it is one that can be solved. [1] Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for two-thirds of deaths globally. The World Health Organization estimates that 67% of 56 million deaths that took place globally in 2012 were due to NCDs, in particular cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes [2]. Three-quarters of these deaths occurred in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) and nearly half of deaths occurred in persons younger than 70 years [2]. The World Health Organization projects a rise in the number of NCD deaths from 36 million in 2008 to 55 million by 2030, of which 15.4 million are projected to be in people younger than 70 years, if effective steps are not taken to curb the pandemic [3,4].