EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Africa
is not a healthy continent per se. It carries 25% of the world’s disease burden
and only 1.3% of the world’s health workforce.
Africa
is the second largest and second most populous continent, accounts for about
15% of human population and covers about 30.2 million km2. Africa is
now faced with double burden of diseases; communicable and non-communicable
diseases.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are now the
leading cause of death in the most regions of the world. Africa is expected to
have the largest increase in NCDs over the next decade, this will cause huge
burden to the continent .Non-communicable diseases has been identified into
four main categories according to WHO; 1-Cardiovasicular diseases such as Heart
attacks and strokes.2-Chronic respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and Asthma 3-Cancers such as cervical cancer which is the
second most common cancer for female, oral cancer, breast cancer, prostate and lung cancer. 4-Diabete divides into type
1 and type 2. These diseases share four risk factors- tobacco use, harmful use
of alcohol, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet- More than 36million people
die each year from NCDs, and nearly 80% of these are from low to middle –income
countries, conclusively socioeconomics have played a vital role in NCDs
therefore preventing chronic diseases is a vital investment.
The
African Medical Students Association at the International University of Africa
(AMSA - IUA) is a body which collects the African Students studying in the
different faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences in the University. AMSA - IUA has the mission of empowering trainees in the medical and
allied health sciences fields with knowledge and skills that will help them
make reasonable decisions and actions through sharing, education,
communication, training and advocacy for policy changes on medical and health
issues affecting African communities in particular and the world at large. AMSA - IUA aims at orienting the
African students and creating awareness among them, of the health status of the
continent, with the hope that each member shall return home with the
responsibility of contributing towards the salvation of our beloved continent
from its present health crises.
The
4th AMSA-IUA INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CONFERENCE is a continuation of a
series of conferences based on major health issues and the previous three
conferences discussed; the major health problems in Africa, challenges facing
health care providers in Africa and epidemics in Africa respectively.
The
goal of this conference is to explore into these non-communicable diseases in
Africa, their magnitude, risk factors, and level of public awareness of these
diseases, socio-economic impact and the way out
of the problem.
These
issues will be researched by the participants and will be portrayed on
individual disease basis during the sessions of the conference.
General objective
To
explore the various Non-communicable diseases in Africa through their
magnitude, Risk factors, public awareness and socio-economic impact, in order to suggest possible recommendations of prevention
and control.
Specific objectives
v To highlight the magnitude and
socio-economic impact of NCDs.
v To point out the major risk factors of
non-communicable diseases and possible methods on prevention.
v To review international
experience on NCD prevention and control.
v To provide evidence on the
pressing need to strengthen global and national initiatives to prevent NCDs as
part of national health plans and sustainable development frameworks.
v To
suggest possible solutions and/or recommendations towards solving these
challenges.
v To
look into the impact of these non-communicable
diseases
on the African continent from different perspectives.
BACKGROUND OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
IN AFRICA
NON
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES have a long history of burrowing into the African
continent though data in this aspect is relatively lacking. Due to the weakened
health systems by disease burdens and many other factors like Human Resources
for Health (HRH) crises, corruption, conflicts and instability; such NCDs
drastically affect the continent once they ensue, sweeping across populations
like a wild forest fire.
According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 36 million people die each
year from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and nearly 80% of these are from
low- to middle-income countries (LMICs).In the age of globalization and rapid
urbanization, NCDs, which have previously been considered diseases of the
wealthy, are increasingly making their presence felt - even among the poorest
of the world. It is projected that by 2020, 73% of all deaths worldwide will be
due to NCDs and that the burden of disease due to NCDs will rise by more than
60% in LMICs. This rise in LMICs, as in the case of Africa (particularly
Sub-Saharan Africa), is occurring against the backdrop of the existing burden
of communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB).
Many
African countries, together with other LMICs, are currently undergoing an
epidemiological transition from predominantly infectious to non-communicable
diseases. This change can be attributed to changes in lifestyle like diet,
physical activity, smoking and drinking habits. It could also be due to the
changing demographic profile of the population. The population pyramids of
African countries are becoming more cylindrical, as opposed to cone-shaped.
Current projections show that the largest increases in NCD deaths by 2020 will
be in Africa. By 2030, the number of deaths due to NCDs in Africa is projected
to exceed the combined deaths of communicable and nutritional diseases, and
maternal and perinatal deaths.
The
interaction between communicable and non-communicable diseases is increasingly
placing a burden on health care systems and individual health. For instance,
there is evidence that both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes predispose one to TB
infection, and that co-occurrence of these leads to quicker progression of
either disease and greater deterioration of the affected individual. Secondly,
diabetes also predisposes patients to other infections that, in turn,
exacerbate hyperglycemia.
The
double disease burden, as shown above, threatens to overwhelm an already
over-taxed health system. Health services in Africa are typically
under-resourced and the available resources are dedicated primarily to
communicable diseases. NCDs remain largely unrecognized as significant by
African health and government authorities; hence the direct and indirect
effects thereof are not accounted for. Although health authorities acknowledge
the burden and impact of NCDs, only a few African countries have put in place
chronic disease plans or policies.
MAGNITUDE OF MAJOR NCDs IN AFRICA
Heart
disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases are often thought
to be public health problems of significance only in high income countries. In
reality, only 20% of chronic disease deaths occur in high income countries -
while 80% occur in low and middle income countries, where most of the world's
population lives. Moreover, as described in detail in the WHO publication
"Preventing Chronic Diseases: a Vital Investment", the impact of chronic diseases in many low and middle income
countries is steadily growing.
In
these countries, around 28 million people died in 2005 from a chronic disease
and cardiovascular disease alone killed five times as many people as HIV/AIDS.
In these settings, middle-aged adults are especially vulnerable to chronic
disease. Thus, people tend to develop disease at younger ages, suffer longer,
and die sooner than those in high income countries. This undermines countries'
economic development as many of those affected are at the peak of their
productive and economic activity. Non communicable diseases are the major cause of death and disability worldwide.
The
WHO African Region has not been spared the global epidemic of Non Communicable
diseases and their debilitating and often fatal complications such as
blindness, renal failure, gangrene leading to lower limb amputations and
hemiplegic conditions. In the region, chronic diseases are projected to account
for a quarter of all deaths by 2015.
Non
communicable diseases, the silent killers, have insidious onset, debilitating
complications and result in painful deaths. The estimated number of chronic
disease-related deaths in the WHO African region in 2005 was 2,446,000.
WHO
projects that 28 million people in the Region will die from a chronic disease
over the next 10 years. The rate of increase of deaths from chronic diseases
will outstrip that from infectious diseases, maternal and perinatal conditions
and nutritional deficiencies more than 4-fold in the next 10 years - the former
will increase by 27% and the latter by 6%. Most significantly, deaths from diabetes
will increase by 42%.
In some African countries, such as Mauritius, Namibia and
Seychelles, NCDs cause over 50% of all reported adult deaths. This implies that
NCDs will soon be a leading cause of ill health, disability and premature death
in the Region, and will have an adverse impact on socioeconomic development.
RISK FACTORS OF NCDs IN AFRICA
Modifiable behavioral risk factors
Tobacco
use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol
increase the risk of NCDs. Tobacco accounts for around 6 million deaths every year (including
from the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke), and is projected to
increase to 8 million by 2030. About 3.2 million deaths annually can be
attributed to insufficient physical activity. More than half of the 3.3 million
annual deaths from harmful drinking are from NCDs. In 2010, 1.7 million annual
deaths from cardiovascular causes have been attributed to excess salt/sodium
intake.
Metabolic/Physiological risk factors
These
behaviors lead to four key metabolic/physiological changes that increase the
risk of NCDs: raised blood pressure, overweight/obesity, hyperglycemia (high
blood glucose levels) and hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat in the blood).
In
terms of attributable deaths, the leading metabolic risk factor globally is
elevated blood pressure (to which 18% of global deaths are attributed) followed
by overweight and obesity and raised blood glucose. Low- and middle-income
countries are witnessing the fastest rise in overweight young children.
IMPACT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES IN AFRICA
The
rapid rise in NCDs is predicted to impede poverty reduction initiatives in
low-income countries, particularly by increasing household costs associated
with health care. Vulnerable In low-resource settings, health-care costs for
cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes or chronic lung diseases can quickly
drain household resources, driving families into poverty. The exorbitant costs
of NCDs, including often lengthy and expensive treatment and loss of breadwinners,
are forcing millions of people into poverty annually, stifling development.
In
many countries, harmful drinking and unhealthy diet and lifestyles occur both
in higher and lower income groups. However, high-income groups can access
services and products that protect them from the greatest risks while
lower-income groups can often not afford such products and services.
SUBTHEMES:
A:
Targeted diseases
v Hypertension
v Cancers
v Diabetes
v Ischemic
heart diseases
v Chronic
respiratory diseases
-
shall be discussed on the following;
v What are the Magnitudes of the NCDs in
Africa?
v How Aware are the general public about
NCDs?
v What are the measure taken for
Prevention and control of NCDs in Africa?
B:
Risk factors of the NCDs
v What are the risk factors leading to
NCDs in Africa?
v What is the role of traditional
medicine and food in NCDs?
C:
Any other abstract related to NCDs submitted.
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