Theme:
“NCD prevention, surveillance and management to achieve SDG 3 in the context of COVID-19 and other health emergencies”
Implementing Partners:
World NCD Federation, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Ministry of Health and Child Care, CHAI and UNICEF
Venue: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
The 2nd Regional Meeting of the World NCD Federation African Region was held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe from the 12th to the 14th of January. The meeting was attended by representatives from Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These came from the Ministries of Health, UN agencies, NGOs, academic institutions and the private organizations. The meeting was officially opened by the guest of Honor, the Honorable Deputy Minister of Health Dr JC Mangwiro. Opening remarks were also given by the WHO representative, and the World NCD Federation president.
The objectives of the meeting were to share experiences regarding the latest advances and trends in NCD prevention, management and surveillance within the context of COVID-19 pandemic and other health emergencies, to discuss opportunities and challenges for scale up of the WHO Best Buys for NCDs within the African context , to discuss how NCD prevention, surveillance and management interventions can be accelerated in the region and to address operational challenges to support, protect and promote health.
Presentations on the NCDs epidemiological transition, approaches to patient centered care, COVID-19 country experiences, package of essential NCD interventions, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of NCD Programmes were made. Participants appreciated the rising NCD trends in the region. The effects of COVID-19 on NCD management were noted and participants shared experiences from their respective countries. Experts shared their views during panel discussions on health systems response to NCDs and innovative financing of NCD prevention and control activities. Participants contributed to group discussions on the research agenda for Africa. Throughout the meeting, there was active participation from all participants, including the honorable Deputy Minister of Health who was present throughout the meeting.
Conclusion and recommendations
- To conduct studies in Zimbabwe on the pregnant women using oral contraceptives
- To strengthen collection of NCD data
- To strengthen use of NCD data, and share NCD data with the relevant stakeholders for their buy-in
- The meeting ended with a call for action.
LINKS:
https://www.herald.co.zw/govt-intensifies-ncds-fight/
https://www.afro.who.int/countries/zimbabwe/news/zimbabwe-hosts-2nd-african-regional-non-communicable-diseases-ncds-conference
https://healthtimes.co.zw/2023/01/12/zimbabwe-hosts-the-2nd-african-regional-non-communicable-diseases-ncds-conference/
https://twitter.com/WHO_Zimbabwe/status/1613483068437983234
https://www.chronicle.co.zw/non-communicable-diseases-to-be-added-to-primary-health-care-services/
https://impactstories.co.zw/index.php/2023/01/14/curtain-comes-down-on-2nd-african-regional-conference-on-non-communicable-diseases/