Heart Diseases Now More Apparent

The Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Eldery and Children, Professor Mohammad Kambi, has said that non-communicable diseases are becoming more noticeable in the country as compared to communicable diseases due to the lifestyle modification. 

 He said in the group of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), cardiovascular diseases are currently among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the country. He said the increase of the diseases are being fomented by the lifestyle modification of Tanzanians.

"I have been informed that according to projections by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in 10 years to come cardiovascular diseases will account for 20 per cent of deaths. In Tanzania, such projections put a figure of over one million people dying from cardiovascular diseases in the next 10 years," he said.

Professor Kambi made the remarks in Dar es Salaam yesterday when he was a guest of honour during the opening ceremony of the first Tanzania Cardiac Society conference collaboration with the Pan African Society of Cardiology (PASCAR) heart failure task force.

Heart Diseases Now More Apparent

According to him, in 2008, NDCs accounted for an estimated 36 million deaths or 63 per cent of 57 million deaths that occurred globally, comprising mainly cardiovascular diseases 48 per cent, cancers 21 per cent and chronic respiratory diseases 12 per cent.

Kambi said it is further estimated that Tanzania will lose 100 million US dollars in national income from premature deaths due to heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Worse still, these losses are projected to continue to increase cumulatively, unless something drastic happens.

"Tanzania stands to lose 3 billion US dollars over the next 10 years from premature deaths due to lose cardiovascular ailments," he said.

The President of Tanzania Cardiac Society (TCS), Dr Robert Mvungi, said the aim of the conference is to discuss with stakeholders from various regions in Africa on how to decrease the non-communicable diseases.

He also said the government has done well for the construction of the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) because it will help to combat and decrease the non-communicable diseases.

The Executive Director of JKCI, Professor Mohamed Janabi, said 80 per cent of operations conducted at the institution are associated with inborn diseases. He has advised pregnant women focus on vaccines to prevent children being born with inherited diseases.