The UN World Health Organization today announced it has established a new high-level global commission on noncommunicable diseases, to be chaired by former WHO director general candidate Sania Nishtar of Pakistan.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement from the 64th Session of WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean being held in Islamabad from 9-12 October.

“The commission’s aim is to identify innovative ways to curb the world’s biggest causes of death and extend life expectancy for millions of people. The commission will support ongoing political efforts to accelerate action on cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes and respiratory disease, as well as reducing suffering from mental health issues and the impacts of violence and injuries,” according to the release.

The main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes, according to the WHO website.

Commission membership details are still being finalised, according to a WHO spokesperson. A graph of the preparatory process leading to the third High-level Meeting on NCDs in 2018 shows the timeline and is available here.

The WHO said Nishtar is “a prominent global advocate for action against NCDs, former Federal Minister of the government of Pakistan and civil society leader.” She also previously served as co-chair of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity.

Later this month, the release said, “ministers and other health leaders from around the world will review progress in Montevideo, Uruguay at the WHO Global Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases, co-hosted by WHO and the President of Uruguay. Governments and other stakeholders will meet again at the third UN High-level meeting on NCDs in 2018.”

In 2015, world leaders committed to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one third by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals,” it said, adding, “Recent WHO reports indicate that the world will struggle to meet that target.”