A United Nation high level meeting on chronic non-communicable diseases: utility for Africa?

Africa faces an important but seemingly “neglected epidemic” of chronic non-communicable diseases (NDCs). In many countries in this part of the world, morbidity and mortality related to NCDs such as diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart disease and stroke have alarmingly increased over the last two decades [1-3]. Various segments of the populations are affected, but mostly young adults in urban areas. The Africa ́s chronic diseases burden has been attributed to changing health-related behaviors (e.g., sedentary lifestyles and diets high in saturated fat and sugar), which are linked to the epidemiological and nutritional transitions, with structural changes such as industrialization, urbanization and increasing food market globalization [4]. The African context is compounded by weak health systems, which are unable to cope with the looming double burden of infectious and NCDs. Many have recommended an all-encompassing approach to dealing with the burden, which includes epidemiological surveillance; primordial and primary prevention (preventing disease in healthy populations); and secondary prevention (preventing complications and improving quality of life in affected populations). However, achieving these objectives confronts many challenges, which are mainly structural, logistic, human (lack of clinical and research staff) and organizational (health system).