Act now to fight chronic diseases

Kenya: Kenya is facing a double crisis as non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions overtake communicable diseases like tuberculosis, HIV and malaria as the top causes of illness and death.

What makes these NCDs spread is that they take long to manifest in an individual unless there is an option of early and continued screening and treatment.  The World Health Organisation warns that by 2020, these diseases will be the leading cause of death in Africa.

The four main NCDs - cardiovascular, cancer, lung diseases and diabetes - kill three in five people worldwide.

Sadly, both men and women, young and old, are affected by NCDs leading to calls for proactive policies by governments to curb their prevalence.

Kenya is a signatory to the 2013 World Health Assembly political declaration on NCDs that hopes to reduce premature deaths by 25 per cent by 2025. The declaration calls upon countries to manage the risk factors that cause these chronic diseases.

This new challenge is now evident in developing countries like Kenya where research shows that poverty is also linked to NCDs because affected households spend most of their money on healthcare.

A multi-sectoral approach is required to tame NCDs in Kenya where the Government, private sector and other partners work together to put in place prevention and treatment programmes that encourage early detection and treatment.

Everyone has a role to play on prevention and management of NCDs.