The report begins by examining NCDs (noncommunicable diseases) in developing countries and the factors driving their increasing prevalence. The analysis reveals that NCDs are rising faster, affecting younger populations, and having worse health and economic outcomes than seen in developed countries. This growing epidemic, the report says, is not merely the unfortunate byproduct of higher incomes and declining infectious disease rates. The report credits the confluence of several dramatic trends for driving the increase in NCDs: unprecedented rates of urbanization, global integration of consumer markets, and advances in longevity in still-poor countries that lack sufficient health systems to adjust. The report also assesses the case for increased U.S. focus on NCDs. That assessment includes an examination of the countries that receive significant U.S. health assistance and finds that premature burden of death and disability in many of these countries is heavily NCD-related. The Task Force concludes that deeper U.S. involvement on NCDs is needed to ensure the continued effectiveness and credibility of U.S. global health programs in these countries, to advance U.S. trade with emerging economies, and to build institutional capacity in states of U.S. strategic concern.