Trends in the proportionate mortalities attributed to noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000 to 2016

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) remain a growing global health issue and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is no exception. Using secondary data obtained from the World Bank on 48 SSA countries, we describe the trends in the proportionate mortalities attributed to NCDs in SSA between 2000 and 2016. The baseline proportionate mortalities attributed to NCDs in SSA increased from 22.49% in 2000 to 33.69% in 2016, representing about 11% increase. The trend was replicated across the low-, middle-, and high-income countries in SSA. The highest change in the NCD mortalities in low-income SSA countries was seen in Eritrea where NCD mortalities increased from 19.3% in the year 2000 to 45.2% in 2016. In Rwanda, it rose from 24.8% to 44% during the same period. Ghana, a lower-middle-income country, also witnessed an increase from 27.3% in 2000 to 42.7% in 2016. The general increasing trend in the burden of NCD mortalities in SSA implies the need for higher prioritization of NCD prevention and control initiatives. There is a need for a greater contribution of nontraditional stakeholders in health through a multi-sectoral approach. We also recommend integrating NCD prevention and control strategies into existing public health structures being used for communicable disease control.