‘Non-communicable diseases the leading cause of death in SA’

Non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and cancer, have surpassed the Covid-19 pandemic as the leading cause of death in South Africa. That’s according to Deputy Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla, who was speaking in Pretoria, on the urgent need to avert deaths from preventable diseases.

Phaahla was joined by the World Health Organization (WHO) during a dialogue intended to find lasting measures to curb the looming pandemic of non-communicable diseases. The Department of Health has warned that diabetes has become the second leading underlying cause of death in the country, and the leading cause among women.

Phaahla says lifestyle-related diseases are preventable through a healthy living campaign. He has urged South Africans to exercise regularly and to avoid the excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco.

“The battle is far from over. We’ve made some progress and believe that in dealing with all of the NCDs – I’ve mentioned diabetes cardiovascular – but we also know about malignancies on the significant rise we see a number of reports as many of you would be aware that just a few days ago we lost one of our colleagues in government, Pravin Gordhan, who also succumb to cancer,” says Phaahla.

In an effort toCancer and Diabetes top NCD killer in SA:

find preventive measures, the department has also used a levy intended to promote good health, like the sugar tax collected by national treasury. And it is considering other measures like regulating the consumption of salt and making labels on food products mandatory.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is investigating the developmental origin of health and diseases.

“There was a doctor who determined that through his research that the condition the mother of the child during the pregnancy or even before the pregnancy could determine the health trajectory of a child,” says Dr Nigel Rollins from World Health Organization.

Government has advised South Africans that early detection of non-communicable diseases is key.