PEN-Plus: Emergency attention required to address NCDs in Africa

By Vivian Ihechu

Stakeholders have advocated strongly the need for an emergency attention to tackle the burden of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Africa.
The Call to Action to accelerate the NCDs Global Compact was made at the end of the inaugural annual International Conference on PEN-Plus Regional Strategy to Address Severe NCDs in Africa (ICPPA 2024), in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa in collaboration with the Helmsley Charitable Trust (HCT), NCDI Poverty Network and their partners hosted the ICPPA2024.
It had the theme: “Prioritising Person-Centred Approach to Chronic and Severe NCDs: Type 1 Diabetes, Sickle Cell Disease, and Childhood Heart Diseases.”
Dr Hamad Nyenbea, Director, Curative Services, Ministry of Health, Tanzania, representing the Tanzanian Minister of Health, read the Call to Action.
“This statement is being read in the United Republic of Tanzania, with the participants at the first ever…