Acute and Chronic Health Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Unfinished Agenda

The concept of a “Double Burden of Disease” conceived in the second half of the last century has by now turned into a success story in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been instrumental in creating the regional and global political momentum to address the “unfinished agenda of infectious diseases” and to fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in a concerted and sustainably financed action. An estimated three million children under the age of five have been saved from malaria, and the incidence of new HIV cases in sub-Saharan Africa has fallen by more than half between 2001 and 2012. The concept also created an awareness of the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in this part of the world. It is too early to predict whether or not this success in the area of infectious disease will repeat itself in the domain of non-communicable diseases. There are some obstacles to overcome. The countries of SSA have to integrate the two separately conceived policies and their different funding into one and to avoid competition in resource allocation between the two areas. They need to develop integrated strategies that begin in the primary health care sector and finally they need to define strategies on how to engage constructively with the private sector.