Non-Communicable Diseases On Rise In Africa – WHO Warns

The WHO has warned that non-communicable diseases, or diseases that are not transmitted directly from one person to another, are said to be on the rise in Africa as climate change continues to pose a big threat to health in the region.

It adds that increasing temperatures mean mosquitoes spread diseases further and faster than ever before, with serious consequences for African countries.

Deaths due to malaria in Africa now account for more than half of all malaria deaths worldwide. With fossil fuels responsible for most of the harmful emissions that are linked to acute and chronic sickness, the WHO has called for sensible steps to curb their use.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said during the past two decades, most public health events have been climate-related, whether they were vector-or water-borne, transmitted from animals to humans, or the result of natural disasters.

According to Dr. Moeti, non-communicable diseases are set to overtake communicable diseases, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional conditions combined, to become the leading cause of death by 2030.

The WHO also warned that more than 90 percent of people globally breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution adding that lower respiratory infections are the second major cause of death in Africa.