{"id":11215,"date":"2026-01-06T14:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/?p=11215"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:43:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T14:43:42","slug":"africas-urgent-fight-against-noncommunicable-diseases-a-call-for-investment-equity-and-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/06\/africas-urgent-fight-against-noncommunicable-diseases-a-call-for-investment-equity-and-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s Urgent Fight Against Noncommunicable Diseases: A Call for Investment, Equity, and Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Dr. Benido Impouma, Acting Director of the Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control Cluster, WHO Africa<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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As 2025 drew to a close, the World Health Organization\u2019s African Region released its latest Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Bulletin, highlighting both progress and urgent challenges in tackling conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory illnesses, and mental health disorders. These diseases, often referred to as <\/span>\u201csilent killers,\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0are now among the leading causes of death in sub-Saharan Africa, straining health systems and deepening poverty. The bulletin revealed that NCDs claimed at least <\/span>43 million lives globally in 202<\/span><\/i><\/b>1<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0accounting for <\/span>75 percent of non-pandemic related deaths,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0and every two seconds someone under the age of 70 dies from an NCD.<\/span><\/p>

Dr. Benido Impouma, Acting Director of the Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control Cluster at WHO Africa, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, <\/span>\u201cTogether, we must accelerate progress toward SDG target 3.4: reducing premature NCD mortality by one-third by 2030. We call on all leaders, countries and partners to act and invest in WHO\u2019s \u2018Best Buys\u2019 to beat NCDs and ensure a healthier Africa.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>His words reflect the scale of the challenge and the need for coordinated action across governments, civil society, and international partners.<\/span><\/p>

The bulletin highlighted several initiatives already underway. The <\/span>PEN-Plus project<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0which delivers integrated clinical services for severe NCDs such as type 1 diabetes, sickle cell disease, and rheumatic heart disease, is now being implemented in <\/span>20 countries, with over 15,000 people receiving treatment.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>All 47 WHO African Member States have adopted PEN-Plus, with a target for 70 percent to initiate services by 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>

During the UN General Assembly, WHO Africa and partners reaffirmed their commitment to scaling up this life-saving model. Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, noted, <\/span>\u201cPEN-Plus is a transformative model for integrating NCD care into primary health systems. It delivers equitable care for people across implementing countries, regardless of age or income.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/b><\/p>

Another major initiative is the <\/span>Women\u2019s Integrated Cancer Services (WICS) project<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0which has already vaccinated more than <\/span>3 million girls against HPV and screened over 5,000 women for breast and cervical cancer.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0The project is bringing lifesaving cancer prevention and care directly into communities in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Stories like that of Judith Lungania, a 42-year-old mother from Kenya who was diagnosed early with cervical cancer thanks to WICS, illustrate the impact. <\/span>\u201cScreening early helped me, and today I am undergoing treatment. I want other women to know the importance of going early for screening,\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>she said.<\/span><\/p>

Oral health has also emerged as a critical area of focus. In August 2025, African Member States adopted a new Regional Framework to accelerate the fight against oral diseases, which affect <\/span>42 percent of the population. By 2030, the goal is to reach 50 percent population coverage, reduce oral disease rates by 10 percent, and ensure 60 percent of countries have national oral health policies<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0with dedicated budgets and staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Zambia has already begun implementing the framework, training oral health coordinators and integrating essential dental preparations into national medicine lists. Senegal\u2019s Minister of Health reaffirmed commitment, stating, <\/span>\u201cWe are committed to ensuring that we are at the forefront of protecting people against oral diseases.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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WHO African Region Headquarters, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Mental health was another major theme. WHO Africa launched a new <\/span>Mental Health Dashboard<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0to drive data-led action, consolidating around 40 key indicators into one interactive platform. With <\/span>150 million Africans living with mental health conditions and a regional suicide rate of 11.5 per 100,000 population, <\/span><\/i><\/b>the dashboard represents a decisive shift toward smarter, real-time surveillance.<\/span><\/p>

Between 2020 and 2025, <\/span>only 11 of 47 countries incorporated mental health and psychosocial support into their disaster preparedness plans,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0highlighting the need for stronger investment. WHO stressed that <\/span>\u201caccess to mental health services during emergencies remains critically low, and government spending is far below what is needed to meet rising demand.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>

The bulletin also revealed that more than <\/span>210 million Africans require rehabilitation services<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0yet two out of three people do not have access to the care they need. In response, African health ministers endorsed a landmark regional strategy to fully integrate rehabilitation into public health systems by 2035. This strategy aims to address conditions ranging from developmental disorders to road traffic injuries and mental health issues, ensuring that rehabilitation becomes a core component of universal health coverage.<\/span><\/p>

In conclusion, the WHO Africa NCD Bulletin paints a sobering picture of the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases across the continent, but it also highlights innovative solutions and renewed commitments. From <\/span>PEN-Plus clinics<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0to <\/span>WICS cancer services,<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0from oral health frameworks to mental health dashboards, Africa is building momentum toward a healthier future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The challenge now is to sustain investment, strengthen primary health care, and ensure that no community is left behind. As Dr. Impouma declared, <\/span>\u201cNo child, no woman, no family should suffer or die from a preventable or treatable disease. Success is within reach if decisive action is taken.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>

Source: <\/span><\/i><\/b>NCD Quartly Bulletin – Issue 3..pdf<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Benido Impouma, Acting Director of the Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control Cluster, WHO Africa Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa As 2025 drew to a close, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,106,91,59,163,87,98,73,99,62,107,85,102,92,94,64,162,89,77,111,80,93,78,95,81,110,70,52,108,105,161,90,112,67,60,82,103,61,63,83,56,97,79,74,104,53,100,57,76,96,75,160,55,86,65,66,164,113,68,69,165,71,72,54,109,166,88,58,101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aging-health-care","category-ai-data-solutions","category-ai-in-healthcare","category-anemia-prevention-management","category-au-eu-health-policies","category-case-studies","category-clinical-trials-evidence-based-studies","category-communicable-non-communicable-diseases","category-compliance-licensing","category-diet-nutrition","category-digital-health-platforms","category-digital-health-startups","category-doctors-specialists","category-e-pharmacy-mobile-health","category-emerging-healthcare-trends","category-fitness-exercise","category-government-funding","category-guides-tips","category-health-insurance","category-health-policy-governance","category-healthcare-administrators","category-healthcare-market-research","category-healthcare-providers","category-healthcare-system-studies","category-healthcare-technology-providers","category-hospital-management-operations","category-hygiene-preventive-health","category-industry-insights","category-iot-medical-devices","category-lab-radiology-technicians","category-maternal-healthcare","category-medical-devices-equipment","category-medical-supply-chain-logistics","category-menstrual-health-hygiene","category-mental-health-stress-management","category-nhis-private-insurance","category-nurses-midwives","category-nutrition-lifestyle","category-obesity-weight-management","category-out-of-pocket","category-patient-care","category-patient-outcomes-and-quality-improvement-studies","category-payers","category-pharmaceuticals","category-pharmacists","category-policy-regulation","category-private-vs-public-healthcare-policies","category-professional-insights","category-public-health-disease-control","category-public-health-research","category-radiology-diagnostics","category-reproductive-healthcare","category-research-studies","category-resources","category-sexual-reproductive-health","category-sexual-reproductive-health-education","category-sexual-abuse-prevention","category-skin-beauty-finance","category-skin-personal-care","category-skincare-dermatology-concerns","category-stis-prevention","category-substance-abuse-public-health-risks","category-substance-use-addiction-recovery","category-technology-innovation","category-third-party-administration-corporate","category-un-healthpolicies","category-webinars-events","category-wellness-preventive-care","category-who-ghana-health-service-ghs-directives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11215"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11220,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11215\/revisions\/11220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}