The costs are forecast to be in lost productivity and healthcare spending during that period, according to the most recent PAHO report.

The aforementioned figure—equivalent to the total annual gross domestic product (GDP) of all of Latin America and the Caribbean—underscores an urgent economic and health emergency and the need to act now to prevent disease and protect development, the regional organization’s website reported.

PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa stated that the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases and mental health conditions has become an economic emergency, “perhaps the greatest economic disaster linked to health,” he remarked.

Barbosa emphasized that these are not just health statistics, but rather fiscal warning signs, according to the official cited on the official website.

The report indicates that non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death in the Americas, claiming six million lives in 2021, of which nearly 40% occurred prematurely in people under 70 years of age.

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