Health minister: Rising non-communicable diseases linked to ageing, lifestyle changes

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, on Monday, highlighted the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases to the effects of ageing and evolving lifestyles.

 

NCDs, also known as chronic diseases, include cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, as defined by the World Health Organization.

 

Pate, who said this while speaking on Channels Television’s “Sunrise Daily,” programme, attributed the rise in NCDs to several changes occurring in Nigeria simultaneously.

 

He said, “Non-communicable diseases are more prominent, partly because we are ageing, partly because of lifestyle changes – that needs to be accounted for.

 

“Nigeria is going through multiple transitions all at once. It is undergoing a demographic transition with a population that is youthful. At the same time, it’s ageing, and the structure of our population is changing gradually.”

 

“We are having an epidemiological transition whereby the patterns of diseases that we have had for the last several decades are gradually giving way to other new diseases.”

 

Newsmen reports on Sunday that the minister unveiled a four-point agenda that would ensure that the sector delivered improved healthcare to Nigerians.

 

Pate said the ministry would improve the effectiveness of health governance in Nigeria and minimise political interference.

 

“The Federal Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and the state governments have a lot of responsibilities to deliver health to the people. We will improve the quality of governance and leadership of hospitals.

 

“We will appraise the leadership of tertiary hospitals and the teaching hospitals. We will strengthen the regulatory capacity of our institutions like NAFDAC,” he said.