A high-level international conference, to be held in Moscow, Russian Federation on 30–31 October 2007, will explore how to minimize NCDIs’ negative impact on the economic and social well-being of the CIS countries. The participants will include officials and experts from the 12 CIS countries, observers from Estonia, Mexico, Mongolia and Romania, and officials from international organizations such as the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the World Bank, bilateral agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development, and partner countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.

The conference is expected to result in a declaration and call to action that will form part of the implementation of the 2006 European Strategy for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and a 2005 resolution on preventing injuries in the WHO European Region, which were endorsed by all 53 Member States in the Region.