Tackling the emerging pandemic of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: the essential NCD health intervention project

Abstract

There is evidence that the prevalence of certain non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, is increasing rapidly in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Others, such as asthma and epilepsy, are known to be common but to be poorly managed. This paper describes a project, funded by the Department for International Development of the British Government, which aims to provide costed and evaluated treatment packages for use at primary health care level, methods and materials for evaluating the quality of non-communicable disease care, and a protocol for the assessment for national opportunities for the prevention of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. Methods are being developed and piloted in urban and rural Tanzania and Cameroon.

PIP: Declining death rates from communicable diseases, together with population aging, leads to a higher incidence and prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as atherosclerotic disorders, cancers, and chronic respiratory disease. These NCDs gradually become the population's predominant health problems. Evidence indicates that the prevalence of certain NCDs, such as diabetes and hypertension, is increasing rapidly in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Others, such as asthma and epilepsy, are common, but poorly managed. This paper describes a project funded by the British Government's Department for International Development to provide costed and evaluated treatment packages for use at the primary health care level, methods and materials for evaluating the quality of noncommunicable disease care, and a protocol for assessing national opportunities to prevent hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Methods are now being developed and piloted in urban and rural Tanzania and Cameroon.