The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are among Africa’s greatest development threats, with deaths rising steadily and health systems increasingly overstretched across the continent.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Prof. Mohamed Janabi, issued the warning on Monday in Abuja during the 10th anniversary of the West African Institute of Public Health (WAIPH) and its 2025 conference.
The conference, themed “Digital Innovation and Shared Leadership for Africa’s NCDs Response,” focused on leveraging technology and collaboration to address the continent’s expanding NCD burden and strengthen regional health systems.
In his keynote address, titled “The Silent Epidemic: How NCDs are Threatening Africa’s Development,” Janabi said NCDs were advancing rapidly and were projected to overtake communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutrition-related diseases by 2030.
“This is a silent epidemic affecting individuals, families, economies and health systems across Africa, yet the story of NCDs often remains hidden in clinic records, household finances and preventable premature deaths,” he said.
Janabi said NCDs accounted for 35.4 per cent of all deaths in Africa in 2021, up from 21 per cent in 2000, with cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, respiratory diseases and mental health conditions driving the surge.
He highlighted the enormous economic toll, noting that productivity losses linked to NCDs now exceeded one trillion dollars annually, burdening governments, households and the private sector and slowing sustainable development across the continent.
“Every one dollar invested in NCD prevention yields seven dollars in benefits through reduced medical costs and increased productivity, yet productivity loss from NCDs is 38 times higher than current spending,” he said.
Janabi added that health expenditure on NCDs in Africa remained below 30 billion dollars annually, with less than half coming from domestic sources, leaving countries vulnerable to fluctuating external funding and jeopardizing long-term programme sustainability.
He called for stronger primary healthcare, increased domestic financing, robust surveillance systems, improved access to essential medicines and integrated, people-centred care to reduce mortality and improve NCD outcomes.
Janabi noted that Africa had made policy progress and reported advances in cervical cancer elimination, with 32 countries now introducing the HPV vaccine to curb morbidity and mortality.
WAIPH Director-General, Dr. Francis Ohayindo, said climate change was driving both communicable and non-communicable diseases, altering disease patterns and worsening health outcomes across Nigeria and the West African region.
He said rising temperatures increased skin cancer risks, particularly among light-skinned individuals and people who bleach their skin, while shifting climatic conditions were enabling mosquitoes and other vectors to migrate into new areas.
Ohayindo said Nigerians were facing rising risks of hypertension, diabetes and stroke due to lifestyle factors, economic hardship and limited access to preventive care, compounding the national NCD burden.
He emphasized the need for stronger technological integration, noting that digital reminders for medication adherence and health education messages could make “the difference between life and death” for many patients.
“Technology improves understanding of disease conditions, helps people monitor their health and supports early interventions that strengthen preventive care and reduce avoidable complications,” he said.
Dr. Alinon Kokou, Regional Director, Africa CDC, Western Africa Regional Coordinating Centre, said the agency had prioritized digital innovation and NCD response in its continental strategy.
Represented by Senior Technical Officer Chioma Dan-Nwafor, Kokou said Africa CDC had developed a digital health innovation framework to strengthen healthcare delivery and digital infrastructure across the continent.
“With dwindling external funding, we must look inward; domestic financing is the future. Strengthening national contributions is critical to sustaining interventions, reducing reliance on external support and improving health system resilience,” he said.
He added that the regional centre had begun mapping stakeholders to build partnerships, mobilize resources and support digitization, health security and capacity-building across member states.
Dr. Virgil Lokossou, Director of Health Care Services at the West African Health Organization (WAHO), said the agency was partnering with WAIPH to support capacity-building and strengthen public health programmes in the region.
“It is a privilege to continue this journey together. Strengthening collective networks allows us to achieve stronger population impact and ensures that people receive accurate guidance from public health experts,” he said.
Mr. Ademuyiwa Damilola, Director of Programmes at the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL), said digital innovations were essential to improving screening, advocacy, service delivery and patient tracking for better NCD outcomes in Nigeria.
He added that Nigeria had the capacity to adopt innovations, but stronger political will, coherent policy frameworks and coordinated platforms were needed to effectively harness youth, the private sector and partnerships.
Dr. Osita Okonkwo, Country Director, Nutrition International, said nutrition remained a major driver of the NCD burden, with widespread micronutrient deficiencies worsening health outcomes across Nigeria and Africa.
He cited deficiencies in vitamins A and B as particularly concerning and noted that government investments in nutrition remained low despite the high return on investment.
“Where you put one dollar, you get 23 dollars in return, but most nutrition interventions are still funded out-of-pocket, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of NCDs and poor developmental outcomes.
“No child should go to bed hungry. No pregnant woman should lack adequate nourishment. Government must prioritize nutrition interventions to reverse worsening indicators and reduce NCD-related morbidity and mortality,” he said.
