There was an eight percent increase in the mortality rate due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Sri Lanka between 2017 to 2108. The rate was 75 percent in 2017 and it increased to 83 percent in 2018, National Diabetes Centre Director and NCD Alliance Lanka Executive Director Dr. Mahen Wijesuriya said.Speaking at a media seminar on ‘Prevention of NCDs – Our Views – Our Voices (OVOV)’ held at the Health Promotion Bureau in Colombo yesterday, he said that over 20 percent of the Sri Lankan population suffer from diabetes. “It is observed that now people are diagnosed with diabetes at a very young age,” he said.