Kenya launches strategic plan to tackle non-communicable diseases

NAIROBI, June 6 (Xinhua) --

Kenya on Tuesday launched a strategic plan to tackle its non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Issak Bashir, head of the Department of Family Health in the Ministry of Health, told journalists in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that the NCD Alliance Kenya's Strategic Plan 2023-2027 provides a roadmap toward contributing to the reduction of the preventable burden of morbidity, mortality and disability due to NCDs in Kenya.

"It lays a strong emphasis towards meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs towards advocacy response in Kenya," Bashir said.

According to the Ministry of Health, Kenya's main NCDs include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, as well as chronic lung diseases.

Bashir observed that the strategic plan pillars include the use of advocacy as well as research and knowledge management to combat NCDs in the country.

Ephantus Maree, the head of the NCD division at the Ministry of Health, said that NCDs account for 41 percent of deaths in Kenya.

Maree noted that NCDs not only have a significant impact on the individual's and family's life but are also a major impediment to development due to loss in productivity and costs associated with managing these conditions.