NCDs Will Be Leading Cause Of Death In Africa By 2030, WHO Warns

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By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos.
“In Africa, Non Communicable Diseases, NCDs are rising rapidly and are projected to exceed communicable, maternal, prenatal and nutritional diseases as the most leading causes of death by 2030,” Dr. Oleg Chester, WHO’s  Assistant Director-General for Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health, disclosed.
Also posing concern for health planners is that 30 per cent of all people in Africa have High Blood Pressure (HBP) – above 140/90 mHg (milimetres of mercury) the unit measurement of blood pressure.
This percentage, experts pointed out, will most likely suffer from coronary heart disease, stroke, renal or visual impairment or other related conditions.
Described as “lifestyle diseases”, NCDs have become the leading cause of deaths in most regions of the world, accounting for up to 70 per cent of  all deaths globally.
In 2012 for example, according to WHO, NCDs killed 39 million people worldwide of who 80 per cent were from developing countries, including Nigeria.
About of these people died prematurely – before their 70th birthday, the experts’ report stated.
NCDs which was considered the disease of the West and often associated with urban and affluent society, crept  silently into Africa because governments and other international communities focused on combating  communicable diseases  such as malaria, polio, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS which still predominate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic respiratory ailments fall in the category of non-communicable diseases.
NCDs are referred to as lifestyle diseases because they are largely linked to the way people live their lives and to surrounding environmental factors.

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