Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps

Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a rapid increase in non-communicable disease (NCD) burden over the last decades. The East African Community (EAC) comprises Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, with a population of 177 million. In those countries, 40% of deaths in 2015 were attributa...

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Main Authors: Per Kallestrup, Joseph Mucumbitsi, Christian Kraef, Kaushik Ramaiya, Pamela A Juma, Francois Ndikumwenayo, Gerald Yonga
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-11-01
Series:BMJ Global Health
Online Access:https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/11/e003325.full
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author Per Kallestrup
Joseph Mucumbitsi
Christian Kraef
Kaushik Ramaiya
Pamela A Juma
Francois Ndikumwenayo
Gerald Yonga
author_facet Per Kallestrup
Joseph Mucumbitsi
Christian Kraef
Kaushik Ramaiya
Pamela A Juma
Francois Ndikumwenayo
Gerald Yonga
author_sort Per Kallestrup
collection DOAJ
description Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a rapid increase in non-communicable disease (NCD) burden over the last decades. The East African Community (EAC) comprises Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, with a population of 177 million. In those countries, 40% of deaths in 2015 were attributable to NCDs. We review the status of the NCD response in the countries of the EAC based on the available monitoring tools, the WHO NCD progress monitors in 2017 and 2020 and the East African NCD Alliance benchmark survey in 2017. In the EAC, modest progress in governance, prevention of risk factors, monitoring, surveillance and evaluation of health systems can be observed. Many policies exist on paper, implementation and healthcare are weak and there are large regional and subnational differences. Enhanced efforts by regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders are needed to ensure future NCD policies and implementation improvements.
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series BMJ Global Health
spelling doaj-art-86cef091de0d45409b9d2e69b55f89e02024-12-05T08:15:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082020-11-0151110.1136/bmjgh-2020-003325Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next stepsPer Kallestrup0Joseph Mucumbitsi1Christian Kraef2Kaushik Ramaiya3Pamela A Juma4Francois Ndikumwenayo5Gerald Yonga63 Centre for Global Health, Department of Public Health, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, DenmarkCollege of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali, RwandaCentre for Global Health, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Internal Medicine, Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaLSE Health, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UKEast Africa NCD Alliance, Kampala, UgandaEast Africa NCD Alliance, Kampala, UgandaSub-Saharan Africa has seen a rapid increase in non-communicable disease (NCD) burden over the last decades. The East African Community (EAC) comprises Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, with a population of 177 million. In those countries, 40% of deaths in 2015 were attributable to NCDs. We review the status of the NCD response in the countries of the EAC based on the available monitoring tools, the WHO NCD progress monitors in 2017 and 2020 and the East African NCD Alliance benchmark survey in 2017. In the EAC, modest progress in governance, prevention of risk factors, monitoring, surveillance and evaluation of health systems can be observed. Many policies exist on paper, implementation and healthcare are weak and there are large regional and subnational differences. Enhanced efforts by regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders are needed to ensure future NCD policies and implementation improvements.https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/11/e003325.full
spellingShingle Per Kallestrup
Joseph Mucumbitsi
Christian Kraef
Kaushik Ramaiya
Pamela A Juma
Francois Ndikumwenayo
Gerald Yonga
Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
BMJ Global Health
title Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
title_full Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
title_fullStr Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
title_full_unstemmed Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
title_short Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps
title_sort fighting non communicable diseases in east africa assessing progress and identifying the next steps
url https://gh.bmj.com/content/5/11/e003325.full
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