Non-communicable disease trend in South Africa
From communicable disease, such as Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV, South Africa’s health system is now being overwhelmed by a series of non-communicable disease problems. One example of this deadly disease trend is the increasing number of Africans developing kidney failure at an early age. Non-communicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and cancer, have almost gone unnoticed in developing countries like South Africa, because the trend of these diseases is often seen in affluent countries.
This may not be the state of things nowadays. In fact, the World Health Organization stated that non-communicable diseases are beginning to overtake infectious disease mortality and morbidity rate in developing countries. Accordingly, 80% of the overall non-communicable diseases death toll comes from middle to low income countries, half of which are in the African region.
Last August 2013, the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Human Sciences Research Council (or HSRC) released a survey about the current health trends in the country. Apparently, nearly 70% of the women have developed large waist circumference, increasing the risk for chronic illness development. The percentage of overweight children had also increased from 11% (2005) to 18% (2012). The increasing demands of chronic care are concentrated mostly in rural areas, where both communicable and non-communicable diseases affect the poor population.
Kidney disease patients continue to increase
South Africa’s NGO National Kidney Foundation claimed that around 15% of the South African population are suffering from chronic kidney diseases as of 2012. While the foundation continues to raise awareness about kidney diseases, people from different parts of the country seek kidney care services from them. Based from the NGO’s estimates, 25,000 people need to be seen and treated for possible kidney disease. One interesting finding, though, of the National Kidney Foundation is that more South African people develop kidney disease at a much earlier age, as compared to the renal patients in the West who had been diagnosed of kidney disease in their 60s.
This means that there should be an ample delivery of healthcare service to the country, especially in the poorest sectors of the community. Developing kidney diseases at a much younger age, means that people there have lack of education and awareness regarding the nature and extent of the disease. Another thing, the high costs of treating the disease is also seen as a hindrance towards sustainable delivery of services. Kidney diseases – especially cases of kidney failure – require a dialysis machine for treatment. It helps remove toxins and waste from the blood, since the kidney is not functioning well. However, one dialysis session is expensive and a kidney patients need to undergo several dialysis sessions every week, month and year. Given the fact that most of the patients come from the poor communities, they cannot afford the costs of the treatment.
Government officials from the national and local sectors should work hand in hand with the health ministry to make dialysis and other kidney disease treatment interventions highly accessible to the community to address the current health issues faced by the country.
Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa is a prominent figure in the energy sector. He has several businesses operating in Africa, including Dalbit International, a leading petroleum supplier company. In his blog, Humphrey has written several articles on how developing countries can benefit from sustainable energy. - See more at: http://www.humphreyndegwa.com/humphrey-kariuki-ndegwa-on-the-fall-of-oil/#sthash.eXsnFu1e.dpuf
From communicable disease, such as Malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV, South Africa’s health system is now being overwhelmed by a series of non-communicable disease problems. One example of this deadly disease trend is the increasing number of Africans developing kidney failure at an early age. Non-communicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and cancer, have almost gone unnoticed in developing countries like South Africa, because the trend of these diseases is often seen in affluent countries.
This may not be the state of things nowadays. In fact, the World Health Organization stated that non-communicable diseases are beginning to overtake infectious disease mortality and morbidity rate in developing countries. Accordingly, 80% of the overall non-communicable diseases death toll comes from middle to low income countries, half of which are in the African region.
Last August 2013, the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Human Sciences Research Council (or HSRC) released a survey about the current health trends in the country. Apparently, nearly 70% of the women have developed large waist circumference, increasing the risk for chronic illness development. The percentage of overweight children had also increased from 11% (2005) to 18% (2012). The increasing demands of chronic care are concentrated mostly in rural areas, where both communicable and non-communicable diseases affect the poor population.
Kidney disease patients continue to increase
South Africa’s NGO National Kidney Foundation claimed that around 15% of the South African population are suffering from chronic kidney diseases as of 2012. While the foundation continues to raise awareness about kidney diseases, people from different parts of the country seek kidney care services from them. Based from the NGO’s estimates, 25,000 people need to be seen and treated for possible kidney disease. One interesting finding, though, of the National Kidney Foundation is that more South African people develop kidney disease at a much earlier age, as compared to the renal patients in the West who had been diagnosed of kidney disease in their 60s.
This means that there should be an ample delivery of healthcare service to the country, especially in the poorest sectors of the community. Developing kidney diseases at a much younger age, means that people there have lack of education and awareness regarding the nature and extent of the disease. Another thing, the high costs of treating the disease is also seen as a hindrance towards sustainable delivery of services. Kidney diseases – especially cases of kidney failure – require a dialysis machine for treatment. It helps remove toxins and waste from the blood, since the kidney is not functioning well. However, one dialysis session is expensive and a kidney patients need to undergo several dialysis sessions every week, month and year. Given the fact that most of the patients come from the poor communities, they cannot afford the costs of the treatment.
Government officials from the national and local sectors should work hand in hand with the health ministry to make dialysis and other kidney disease treatment interventions highly accessible to the community to address the current health issues faced by the country.
Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa is a prominent figure in the energy sector. He has several businesses operating in Africa, including Dalbit International, a leading petroleum supplier company. In his blog, Humphrey has written several articles on how developing countries can benefit from sustainable energy. - See more at: http://www.humphreyndegwa.com/humphrey-kariuki-ndegwa-on-the-fall-of-oil/#sthash.eXsnFu1e.dpuf