Cardiovascular medicine in primary healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa: Minimum standards for practice (part 2)

Abstract

In the past decades sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has
witnessed urbanisation at unparalleled rates of
increase, together with changing lifestyles. The
consequence of this epidemiological transition has
been a dramatic increase in the incidence of noncommunicable
diseases (NCDs), in particular cardiovascular disease
(CVD). At the same time social disintegration and inequality,
compounded by the dwindling economy in many countries in SSA,
have seriously hindered a cohesive response to NCDs. Moreover,
infections remain rife and many societies in SSA have to contend
with the twin epidemics of both communicable diseases and NCDs.