News Coverage
Global Variability In Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
Low fruit and vegetable consumption is an important risk factor for chronic diseases, but for many (mainly developing) countries, no prevalence data have ever been published. This study presents data on the prevalence of low fruit and vegetable intake for 52 countries and for various sociodemographic groups and settings across these countries.
Read the full article here http://www.ajpm-online.net/article/S0749-3797(09)00097-X/abstract
May, 2009
Diabetes in the WHO Africa Region
In 2000, the prevalence of diabetes among the 46 countries of the WHO African Region was estimated at 7.02 million people. Evidence from North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean indicates that diabetes exerts a heavy health and economic burden on society. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of such evidence in the WHO African Region. The objective of this study was to estimate the economic burden associated with diabetes mellitus in the countries in the African Region.
Read the full article here http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-698X/9/6
March 31, 2009
Tackling CVD in the Developing World
Sydney, Australia - A new report is highlighting once again the danger of a cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemic in many low- and middle-income countries, with the prediction that 85% of cardiovascular deaths worldwide will occur in such nations by 2030 [1]. The article demonstrates the widening gap between rich and poorer countries and the "irrepressible" rise of risk factors, the lack of primary-care facilities for chronic disease, and the unaffordable costs of treatment in low- and middle-income countries.
Read the full article http://www.theheart.org/article/926425.do
December 3, 2008
Ugandan Government Urged To Tackle Diabeties
Kampala — HEALTH officials have asked the Government to sensitise locals on the diabetes epidemic. Dr. Agatha Nambuya from Mulago Hospital said many people countrywide were ignorantly suffering from the epidemic. She was presenting a paper on diabetes during a meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Friday. "Nearly 1.9% of Ugandans are living with diabetes, but those aren't the only faces affected by the disease," Nambuya said.
Read the full article here http://allafrica.com/stories/200806301156.html
June 28, 2008
Concern About Obesity in Ghana
A recent study by the World Health Organisation, which focused on seven African countries – Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Niger and Ghana – has found that three million Ghanaians (out of a population of 20 million) are currently overweight or obese, the greatest number in any of the countries studied.
Researchers also discovered that there were more overweight and obese Ghanaians in the southern part of the country than in the northern part. Additionally, in the Greater Accra region, more than 16% of the population is overweight or obese, while the condition is virtually non-existent in the ‘Upper West’ and ‘Upper East’ sections of the country.
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Ashitey, warned Ghanaians that high levels of obesity could lead to diabetes, hypertension, sleep disorders, gall bladder diseases, stroke and many cancers, and highlighted the adoption of Western lifestyles as a major cause of this trend.
Read the full article here http://www.oxha.org/alliance-alert/2007-q1-jan2013march/alert.2007-03-26.9823414770
March 26, 2007