Accra,– The Africa NCDs Network (ANN), a coalition of recognised Civil Society Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) alliances and organisations has called on African leaders to improve policies on NCDs to save the people from deaths.
It said: “Given that many of the factors such as trade, education, transport and agriculture have influenced the rise of NCDs exist outside the health sector, it is vital that political leaders engage in the fight against NCDs, to ensure a comprehensive, coherent, multi-sectoral response to guarantee the health of the present and future generations.”
A statement signed by Mr Ferdinant M. Sonyuy, the Chair, Africa NCDs Network Secretariat /
Secretary General, Cameroon Civil Society NCD Alliance and copied to the Ghana New Agency said NCDs were the leading cause of death globally.
It said: “In 2012, they caused 68 per cent of deaths (38 million), with about 70 per cent mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Risk factors, which related to a person’s background, lifestyle and environment increase the likelihood of developing an NCD,” it stated.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that by 2030, NCD mortality in the African region would increase by 27 per cent (28 million) additional deaths; exceeding deaths caused by communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional diseases combined.
The statement said: “The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated vulnerabilities of people living with NCDs have further highlighted the acute risks of failure to effectively address the NCD burden in the African region, which also impacts the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and sustainable development goals at large.”
It stated that despite the Political Declaration made at the High Level UN General Assembly meeting on NCDs in July 2018, which focused on advancing efforts to curb the alarming increase in the diseases burden globally the NCD world still faced challenges of policies that do exist on paper, weak healthcare systems and regional and sub-regional capacity differences.
The meeting also raised serious concern on the growing cost of dealing with the diseases and lack of evidenced-based measures to prevent and control NCDs in many countries.
The statement therefore urged regional and national policy-makers, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders to put in much effort to enhance the future policies on NCDS.
It said ANN, as part of the global network was working together with partners to accelerate the implementation of NCD prevention and control in Africa through advocacy, capacity development, research and people-power.
“In this light, the ANN has embraced the concept of Meaningful Involvement of People Living NCDs (PLWNCDs) with the aim of actively and directly involving PLWNCDs during policy governance, planning, accountability and decision-making process.
“Meaningful involvement of PLWNCDs is a critical element of an effective NCD response upon which PLWNCDs can contribute to many different facets such as awareness raising, research, advocacy, policymaking, programme planning and implementation, and accountability.
The statement said the ANN was leveraging the power of live experiences and ensuring that PLWNCDs were given priority.
It said through its work under “Our Views, Our Voices”, a project being funded by NCD Alliance Global; it has been able to proactively engaged PLWNCDs with the aim of amplifying their voices and protecting their right to health and participation during and post COVID-19.
The ANN has endorsed the Global Charter of Meaningful Involvement of PLWNCDs, which was launched on Monday, September 6, 2021 by the NCD Alliance Global.
The Charter rallies all actors such as governments, international institutions, civil society and the private sector to PLWNCDs in decision-making and ensuring a healthcare system that was resilient and able to support communities.
The statement said the Charter has been endorsed by 51 organisations in 26 countries in five regions, and the ANN was currently taking the initiative to localize it and has conducted several discussions to reflect on its relevance and how best the African countries could incorporate its recommendations into their activity implementation plans.
The Network has also used the Charter as a guiding principle when developing its strategic plan that would run from 2022 – 2025 to ensure that PLWNCDs were directly involved in the next five years of the fight against NCDs in Africa, it stated.
The statement said the ANN has conducted a study in eight African countries namely, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, which was aimed at understanding the best practices of meaningful involvement of PLWNCDs, civil society organisations and community engagements in the decision-making process at national and regional levels in Africa.
The study was also geared towards drawing lessons and recommendations that could be used by stakeholders when engaging PLWNCDs in decision-making processes.
The Network therefore called for regional engagement through its national alliances and a multi-sectorial collaborative mechanism towards achieving the agenda of enhancing the health of people living with NCDs in Africa.
Source: Ghana News Agency