In poorer parts of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, health systems are not designed to care for people with chronic conditions. They are more focused on single, acute diseases.
As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Kenya, there is a looming threat for escalated disease and death due to the many people with chronic conditions.
We found that evidence cited by three organisations - a big corporate and two industry lobby groups - was either not evidence at all, or had been twisted to suit the industry’s narrative.
Rapid population ageing has prompted researchers to study disease trends in older South Africans. The aim is to understand the role that specific health conditions play in ageing among rural people.
Keeping track of migration and urbanisation is challenging, but it’s vital for population health that migration and urbanisation is well understood and planned for.
There are differences in the smoking patterns of rural and urban communities. These must be recognised and included in tobacco control interventions to reduce use.
There are a number of challenges that the World Health Organisation’s new leader, Ethiopian-born Tedros Ghebreyesus, will have to navigate during his tenure.
Cracking genetic responses to the changing environment in Africa would open a new frontier in the drive against rising non-communicable diseases on the continent.
Professor and Programme Director, SA MRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand
Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit at the South African Medical Research Council, Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town