High Blood Pressure and Diabetes top Covid Killers in Africa
A World Health Organisation (WHO) analysis of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in 14 countries across Africa found that hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma are the comorbidities most associated with Covid-19 deaths.
In Kenya, around half of Covid-19 deaths were of people with NCDs while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, such patients accounted for 85 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths.
Africans living with NCDs such as hypertension and diabetes are more likely to suffer severe cases of Covid-19 and die, the World Health Organization says.
These chronic conditions require continuous treatment, but as governments across the continent address the ongoing Covid pandemic, health services for NCDs have been severely disrupted.
The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, is quoted in the Kenyan Star saying: “Millions of Africans living with NCD’s are at greater risk of complications or dying from Covid-19, So it is very concerning to find that just when people with hypertension and other chronic conditions most need support, many are being left out in the cold.”
Limited Out-Patient Care
In a WHO survey of 41 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 22 per cent of countries reported that only emergency inpatient care for chronic conditions is available, while 37 per cent of countries reported that outpatient care is limited.
Hypertension management has been disrupted in 59 per cent of the countries, while diabetic complications management has been disrupted in 56 per cent of the countries.
The closure or slowdown in services is likely to further aggravate the underlying conditions of patients, leading to more severe cases of NCDs. It also worsens the risks of people living with chronic conditions to Covid-19.
The WHO is working with countries to identify the challenges associated with providing essential services for people with NCDs and is supporting governments to implement strategies to increase service availability.
Advocacy Action: Is your Government working with the WHO? Do you have an action plan in place to meet the challenge? Are there external agencies who could help, for example. Médecins sans frontières (MSF)?