Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are by far the leading cause of death and the world�s number one killer. They account for over 36 million deaths annually, with nearly 80 per cent of the deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO report. More than nine million of all NCD deaths occur before the age of 60.
The report cited hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary diseases and asthma) and cancer as the top four NCDs.
The situation in Ghana
In Ghana, NCDs are reported to cause the death of over 80,000 people annually, with more than half of the people below 70 years.
For instance, in 2012, statistics from Globocan, an affiliate of the WHO, indicated that NCDs accounted for over 82,000 deaths in Ghana.
The statistics have compelled some health officials in the country to begin to raise alarm about the disease, describing it as a silent killer which demands
special interventions from the government and stakeholders in the health sector.
According to them, many Ghanaians could die from potential increase in non-communicable diseases due to risky lifestyles.
The case of hypertension
The Deputy Programmes Manager of the Non-communicable Diseases Control Programme of the Ghana Health Service, Mr Dennis Ocansey, said between 28 to 40 per cent of the Ghanaian adult population had hypertension
He said in 2012, stroke and hypertension were respectively the second and third top causes of inpatient mortality in Ghana, adding that as of November 2013, stroke and hypertension were responsible for 487 and 420 deaths respectively in the country.
�A total of 71,378 people were diagnosed with hypertension in November 2013 in Ghana,� Mr Ocansey added.
Diabetes
With the case of diabetes, he said between seven and 10 of every Ghanaian adult haD been diagnosed diabetic
According to Dr Ocansey, some 17,410 people were diagnosed with diabetes in health facilities across the country as of November, 2013.
Cancer
Touching on cancer, he said the disease caused 8.2 million deaths in 2012, adding; �A third of these deaths are preventable when detected early enough�.
Dr Ocansey said in Ghana, especially among females, cervical cancer, a disease caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is transmitted sexually, accounted for 1,500 death in 2013.
�Breast cancer, which is currently the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, caused the death of 1,000 women in Ghana in 2013,� he said.
Dangerous lifestyles and habits
Dr Ocansey mentioned tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and excessive intake of alcohol as dangerous lifestyles and habits that had the potential of �draining life out of any person at any time�.
In the case of unhealthy diet and alcohol, he said most Ghanaians were addicted to the intake of fatty foods and excessively strong alcoholic beverages that put unnecessary pressure on the heart.
�Coupled with all this indiscipline is the fact that Ghanaians do not exercise regularly. People work throughout the week without taking time to exercise. You need to have an hour of exercise for at least three times a week,� he said.
Government interventions
Speaking at a recent forum in Accra, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Tia Sugri, said NCDs were now emerging epidemic, causing a substantial rise in mortality rates worldwide.
He said those diseases were not just health problems but also had considerable economic impact, since they primarily affected people who were economically productive.
Dr Sugri indicated that tremendous efforts had been made in the past by the government to ensure that those suffering from those diseases had access to the relevant medication.
�The government would continue to equip and support private health institutions and facilities to enable them to effectively discharge their duties in dealing with NCDs,� he said.
Stakeholders� role in addressing NCDs
As part of the effort to addressing NCDs, the Ghana Access and Affordability Programme (GAAP), an initiative designed to improve access to safe, effective and affordable medicines for the treatment of NCDs in the country, was launched in the country.
The GAAP is a private/public partnership initiative between the Government of Ghana and three pharmaceutical companies- Sanofi Associates, MSD and Pfizer.
The programme targets low and middle-income Ghanaians suffering from NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes and neo-plastic diseases.
The Programmes Manager of the GAAP, Mrs Lynda Arthur, said the programme had been designed to help bring affordable and innovative medicines to some targeted undeserved Ghanaians.
�The GAAP will conduct studies that will provide empirical data to look at the effect of differential pricing of selected innovative medicines and health system strengthening, including supply chain management, on specific health outcomes,� he said.
According to Mrs Arthur, the data that will be generated will help guide policy and decision-making to ensure that the most vulnerable had improved access to safe and effective medicines.
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