The Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and AstraZeneca yesterday launched the Healthy Heart Africa programme in Ethiopia with the aim of tackling hypertension under the Ministry’s Strategy for combating Non-Communicable Diseases.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is known as a silent killer because even though it does not present symptoms, it contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease that accounts for approximately 17 million deaths a year globally, making it the biggest cause of death worldwide. Hypertension causes 7.5 million deaths annually (12.8% of all deaths) and the risk of dying from hypertension in African countries is more than double that in high-income countries.
The Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is focusing on tackling hypertension as a key contributor to the burden of Non-Communicable Diseases in the country. To strengthen nationwide awareness, prevention, control and treatment of hypertension, the Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AstraZeneca to provide a formal partnership framework paving the way for the launch and implementation of the Healthy Heart Africa (HHA) Programme which is structured around three key pillars:
- Education and Awareness about hypertension as a condition that is preventable, easily identified and treatable,
- Increasing awareness among healthcare workers to optimize performance and to drive hypertension care to lower levels of the Healthcare System
- Facilitating conditions for easier and more accessible diagnosis so that people can prevent and control the disease before it leads to complications.
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“Ethiopia has made great strides in its fight against communicable diseases and are now using our learnings and investments, to tackle non-communicable diseases,” Federal Minister of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr Kesetebirhan Admasu said, during the launch of the programme.
“We believe that addressing the burden of hypertension through enhanced diagnosis, treatment and training, we will achieve, even surpass the goals set out on our NCD strategy. Today we officially launch AstraZeneca’s Healthy Heart Africa programme in Ethiopia and look forward to working together to make a difference across the country.”
Tarek Rabah, Vice President for Africa at AstraZeneca, commented: “It’s an honour to be working with the Ethiopian Government in support of their progressive National Strategic Action Plan for Non-Communicable Diseases. This partnership is a hallmark example of how public and private institutions can collaborate to address the rising tide of non-communicable diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa. We look forward to supporting Ethiopia’s fight against hypertension and cardiovascular disease more broadly by sharing our learnings from Healthy Heart Africa to help the Federal Ministry of Health achieve its ambitious chronic disease targets.”
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