The National Health Priority Areas initiative was Australia's response to the World Health Organisation's global strategy Health for All by the year 2000 and its subsequent revision.
The initial 1996 set of NHPAs included cardiovascular health, cancer control, injury prevention and control and mental health. Diabetes mellitus was added in 1997, followed by asthma in 1999, arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions in 2002 and obesity in 2008.
Development of National Chronic Disease Strategy
In November 2005 the Australian Health Ministers' Conference (AHMC) [external link] endorsed the National Chronic Disease Strategy (NCDS) [external link] to provide an overarching framework of national direction for improving chronic disease prevention and care across Australia.
It is a nationally agreed agenda to encourage coordinated action in response to the growing impact of chronic disease on the health of Australians and our health care system.
Latest information
The latest information relating to health conditions and diseases can be found on the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing website [external link] . Additional information relating to chronic diseases and health priorities can be found on the Chronic Disease web pages [external link] .