Researchers will receive £9.8 million to tackle the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases in West Africa

Researchers will receive £9.8 million to tackle the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases in West Africa

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine are collaborating with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons to address the growing challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in West Africa.

Around the world, 41 million people die every year from noncommunicable diseases – which include diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer, accounting for 74% of all deaths worldwide. An April 2022 World Health Organization report highlighted the alarming death rate from noncommunicable diseases in Africa, and they are increasingly becoming the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, where the diseases accounted for 37% of deaths in 2019. Increase from 24% in 2000.

West Africa faces a growing burden of noncommunicable diseases and co-existing mental health disorders, and disease control priorities in the region have traditionally been driven by infectious diseases such as malaria. There is an urgent need for capacity to conduct high-quality research to develop effective, evidence-based and people-centered approaches to tackling NCDs adapted to West African settings.

Thanks to £9.8m funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), researchers will address this challenge with the creation of the NIHR Global Health Research Center for Non-communicable Disease Control in West Africa. Researchers will work in partnership to deliver a five-year Stop NCD program. The aim is to improve the health and well-being of the population by developing capacity for high-quality research to enable improved prevention, diagnosis and treatment of interrelated non-communicable diseases - hypertension, diabetes and co-existing stress, anxiety and depression.

Tolib Mirzoev, Professor of Global Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Co-Director of the Center, said: "I am delighted to be co-leading the Stop NCD program with Professor Agyepong from GCPS. Our program addresses an important and urgent need for high quality research to improve the control of NCDs non-communicable diseases in West Africa. Through excellent science, comprehensive capacity strengthening and equitable partnerships with research teams and key stakeholders, we will build the longer-term legacy of African-led research for improved policy and practice in combating noncommunicable diseases.

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"I hope that the work of our Stop NCD Center will help key stakeholders in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger address critical issues to improve NCD control in West Africa, but also provide us with a useful platform to leverage and expand our truly equal partnership that has developed over many years of collaboration. We have a strong team with complementary expertise across five organizations and I have full confidence that we can successfully deliver high quality results to inform improved policy and practice.”

The 15 ECOWAS countries, like most LMICs, are increasingly challenged by increasing NCD-related illnesses and deaths. This is in addition to their long-standing challenges from communicable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Research is at the heart of the innovation needed to solve these problems and the establishment of the Center is a timely and welcome effort to make a difference.”

Irene Agyepong, Center Co-Director, Professor, Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS)

The NIHR Global Health Research Center for Non-communicable Disease Control in West Africa is jointly led by GCPS and LSHTM and works in partnership with other institutions in the region including Ashesi University, Ghana; Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest – Unité Universitaire at Bobo-Dioulasso (Catholic University of West Africa), Burkina Faso; and Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (Research Laboratory for Social Dynamics and Local Development), Niger.

Source:

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

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