Abstract:
The prevalence of major chronic non-communicable
diseases and their risk factors has increased over time
and contributes significantly to the Ghana’s disease
burden. Conditions like hypertension, stroke and
diabetes affect young and old, urban and rural, and
wealthy and poor communities. The high cost of care
drives the poor further into poverty. Lay awareness and
knowledge are limited, health systems (biomedical,
ethnomedical and complementary) are weak, and there
are no chronic disease policies. These factors
contribute to increasing risk, morbidity and mortality.
As a result chronic diseases constitute a public health
and a developmental problem that should be of urgent
concern not only for the Ministry of Health, but also
for the Government of Ghana. New directions in
research, practice and policy are urgently needed. They
should be supported by active partnerships between
researchers, policymakers, industry, patient groups,
civil society, government and development partners