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Noncommunicable diseases are increasing among young people in Africa

September 29, 2026

Fortunately, prevention and care are moving closer to communities.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa’s 2025 report^[1], published in February 2026, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are placing an increasingly heavy burden on Africa. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases account for around 70% of NCD-related deaths on the continent, with cardiovascular diseases remaining the leading cause of death. WHO states that 1.6 million Africans aged 30 to 70 die prematurely each year from the main NCDs, representing around 63% of all deaths related to these diseases.

Available data show that the risk factors for some of these diseases continue to increase, including among young people. According to WHO data, the prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Africa increased from 1.89% in 2010 to 3.19% in 2022. Among children aged 5 to 9, it almost doubled over the same period, rising from 2.92% to 5.27%. Disparities between countries are significant: in 2022, nearly 18.1% of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 were obese in Seychelles, compared with 12.5% in Mauritius, 7.1% in South Africa, 7% in Ghana, and 4.4% in Cameroon.

Elevated blood pressure is also observed in a significant proportion of adolescents. A review published in 2023 in The Lancet Global Health, covering 36 studies published between 2010 and 2021 and 37,926 adolescents aged 10 to 19 in ten sub-Saharan African countries, estimated the overall prevalence of elevated blood pressure at 9.9%, or around one adolescent in ten.

Another review published in 2023 by an international team of researchers and covering 92 studies published between 1968 and 2021 found that the prevalence of hypertension among adolescents was higher in studies conducted in Southern Africa than in other regions of sub-Saharan Africa, with a median prevalence of 13.9% in Southern Africa, compared with 4.5% in West Africa, 4.2% in East Africa and 3.1% in Central Africa.

This trend is all the more concerning because several risk factors for noncommunicable diseases emerge during childhood and adolescence. Obesity and overweight notably increase the risk of developing hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Physical inactivity is another important factor: WHO emphasizes that regular physical activity helps prevent, among other conditions, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and several cancers. The emergence of these risk factors at a young age also means that exposure to them can continue for several decades.

Young people are particularly affected by risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. An Africa CDC report on the 2023 International Conference on Public Health in Africa stresses the importance of NCD prevention among young people, including through education that equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to adopt healthy lifestyles. “Developing curricula focused on NCD prevention can empower young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to adopt healthy lifestyles and prevent NCDs,” says the report^[2]. The organization also draws attention to the environment in which young people grow up, including limited opportunities for physical activity in some urban areas, air pollution, and exposure to the marketing of products such as tobacco, alcohol, and foods high in fat, sugar, or salt. The NCD Alliance, for its part, emphasizes^[3] that “children, adolescents, and women are prime targets of aggressive marketing by industries selling tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food,” and stresses the role of broader factors such as the urban environment, access to healthy food, and socio-economic conditions.

Initiatives to bring prevention and care closer to communities

There are, however, encouraging signs, with the development of programs that seek, in particular, to bring prevention, screening, and care closer to communities. This approach is particularly important for young people. According to WHO, certain severe NCDs, including type 1 diabetes and sickle cell disease, as well as rheumatic and congenital heart diseases, disproportionately affect children, adolescents, and young adults in Africa, particularly in poor, rural, and underserved communities.

PEN-Plus, a regional strategy approved in 2022 by WHO Member States in Africa, responds in particular to these difficulties in accessing care. The program aims to decentralize the diagnosis and management of severe NCDs to district hospitals so that patients, including children and young adults, can receive care closer to where they live. In July 2026, PEN-Plus was being implemented at different levels in 20 African countries, in more than 120 district hospitals. More than 1,750 health professionals had been trained, and more than 170,000 people had attended facilities offering these services during the first three years of implementation.

In Malawi, for example, more than 440 doctors and nurses have been trained under PEN-Plus. The program now covers 55% of the targeted districts. WHO had also reported that six secondary-level health facilities were already caring for more than 300 patients with severe NCDs. Care provided under PEN-Plus is free, which notably helps reduce the financial burden borne by families of children living with severe chronic diseases.

Faith-based organizations are also contributing to this community response. In Kenya, for example, the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK) launched the Familia Nawiri program in 2021, with support from Novartis. It combines community awareness, early screening and referral to care for five groups of NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and its eye complications, epilepsy, sickle cell disease, and breast cancer. Since 2024, this initiative has continued through a health system strengthening program implemented in 12 hospitals across ten counties, including the training of health professionals and community awareness.

These initiatives, among many others, thus show an evolution in the response to NCDs in Africa. Beyond treating diseases once they have developed, some programs now seek to bring screening, diagnosis, and care closer to communities. For children and young adults living with chronic diseases that sometimes require lifelong follow-up, this early and continuous access to care represents a particularly important issue.

^[1]  https://afro.who.int/publications/responding-communicable-and-noncommunicable-diseases-2025-report

^[2]  https://africacdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CPHIA-2023-Conference-Report.pdf

^[3] https://ncdalliance.org/explore-ncds/risk-factors