Nigeria Rallies Africa on Strategy to tackle Non-Communicable Diseases’ Growth

The Nigerian Government has called on African nations to strengthen collaboration and scale up implementation of the PEN-Plus strategy to address growing burden of severe Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) across the continent.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, made the call while delivering a keynote address at the second International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa (ICPPA 2025) yesterday in Abuja.
The high-level conference had as its theme ”Advancing Implementation of PEN-Plus for Severe NCDs in Africa: Technical Innovations, Operational Insights, and Scalable Solutions”.
The conference brought together policymakers, experts, development partners, Civil Society Organisations, and NCD focal persons from across Africa.
Salako warned that severe NCDs, particularly Type 1 Diabetes, Sickle Cell Disease, and Rheumatic Heart Disease, were now affecting younger populations and threatening Africa’s development.
According to him, Africa must rise to tackle the burden of NCDs not just as a health issue, but as a matter of human security, economic progress and sustainable development.
”NCDs currently account for 24 to 30 per cent of deaths in Nigeria, with the majority occurring between the ages of 30 and 69 prime working years.”
He noted that the situation was similar across many African countries, where access to specialised care remained limited especially in rural and peri-urban communities.
He said that most sufferers were unaware of their condition until fatal complications occur, adding that early diagnosis and access to quality, affordable care was therefore imperative.
The minister disclosed that to combat the trend, Nigeria had developed a National Policy and Strategic Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of NCDs.
He said that this strategic policy emphasises multi-sectoral collaboration, integration with Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and strengthening of Primary Health Care (PHC).
He noted that the country was already implementing the Nigeria Essential Package of NCDs (N-PEN) in select PHCs, providing trained personnel, medical equipment, and essential drugs.
”Building on this progress, Nigeria, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), is piloting the PEN-Plus strategy at the secondary healthcare level to improve outcomes for children and young adults living with severe NCDs.
”This is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which treats the health of every Nigerian as an urgent matter of right,” he said.
Salako called on participants to see the conference as a “call to action” and urged renewed commitment from African governments to scale up PEN-Plus implementation, enhance funding, and improve access to care.
”Let us be part of history by saving this generation and generations unborn from the devastating effects of these three severe NCDs,” he said.
The minister further extended Nigeria’s gratitude to the WHO-Afro Office for championing the PEN-Plus approach and to the Leona M. and Harry B. Hemsley Charitable Trust for supporting its implementation across the region.
The PEN-Plus model, derived from the WHO Package of Essential NCD interventions, aims to decentralise specialised care and strengthen referral systems in resource-constrained settings, ensuring that even the most underserved populations can access life-saving NCD services. (NAN)