Uganda is listed among the 11 African countries that will benefit from a research programme on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a World leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare company has set aside 440M UGX to fund the research.
Other countries benefiting from the cause will include Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Ghana, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal or Tanzania.
Dr. Davis Kibirige, Medical Advisor for GSK in Uganda says , "whilst huge progress has been made in recent years to understand and combat infectious diseases, more work needs to be done to tackle the growing health concern presented by NCDs in Uganda and across Sub-Saharan Africa."
In 2014, NCDs were estimated to account for over one quarter (27%) of total deaths in Uganda, and across the country the probability of dying at a young age from an NCD is 21%.NCDs cause over half of all reported adult deaths in some African countries, suggesting that NCDs could become leading cause of health issues, disability and premature death.