The government should enhance its capacity and accountability in speeding up the country’s response in preventing and controlling Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
The Secretary General of the Tanzania Diabetes Association (TDA), Dr Kaushak Ramaiya, said this in an exclusive interview with The Guardian recently.
He said the government’s response to the prevention and treatment of NCDs only becomes successful if it meets three requirements.
He mentioned these as an overriding political or legal mandate existing for multi-sectoral action and governance process as well as a mechanism to develop and implement policies.
Further, Dr Ramaiya said, there should be readily available members of staff who have required skills for implementation of any successful programmes.
He explained: “This is the right time for the government to empower the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to create a political mandate for its officials to work with their counterparts in other ministries.
“By so doing they would ensure multi-sectoral coordination and implementation of key policies.” He said the unit for NCDs’ prevention and treatment in the ministry has to be provided with adequate funds and dedicated members of staff with requisite skills and capabilities.
He said staff treating patients with NCDs need both technical skills in the discipline of public health as well as political and communication skills. These are necessary for working with other sectors, including the private one, he said.
He said in addition to multi-sectoral collaboration, intervention and control of NCDs have to focus on the whole population.
He said effective implementation of the whole intervention requires emphasis to shift from information and health education from individuals to legal, fiscal and regulatory action by the government.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Public Health Association (TPHA) secretary, Dr Bertha Maegga, said there is a need to boost advocacy and put the prevention and control of NCDs at the top of the nation’s agenda.
She said there is also a need to have evidence to support claims of the increasing burden of NCDs and their implication to health care systems as well as the country’s economy.
“All the data for health, social and economic effects of NCDs, cost effectiveness of interventions and future costs of not acting are helpful.
“They build up support for multi-sectoral policy action and law reform by the government. They also ensure sustainable financing of the NCDs prevention and control activities,” she said.
She advised the government to establish a multi-sectoral NCDs policy framework as an integral part of the National Vision 2025 and National Strategy for the Growth and Reduction of Poverty.
She emphasised that it must generate more evidence and disseminate information about the evidence.
On July 19, this year, NCDs were reported to be the number one cause of deaths and disabilities worldwide. They were therefore among major health and development challenges of the 21st century. In terms of human suffering they had very adverse effects they had on universal sustainable development.
The view was given by panelists at the Third Global Conference on Financing for Development that ended recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
According to Professor Ayoub Mgimba, from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Tanzania, every year 38 million people die from NCDs worldwide, which is more deaths than all other diseases combined.
He said most deaths from NCDs are caused by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health and neurological disorder.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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