The SA NCDs Alliance was established 7 years ago and is a civil society partnership between three trusted NCDs advocacy organisations: CANSA, Diabetes SA, Heart and Stroke Foundation SA. Its mission is for the people of South Africa have equitable access to quality NCDs+ prevention and management within universal health coverage/ NHI.
The millions of South Africans living with NCDs+ are a critical at-risk, vulnerable group during COVID-19. No community is spared from the impacts of COVID-19 or NCDs, affecting rich and poor alike. The COVID-19 pandemic, despite its huge negative impact, offer a policy window of opportunity to work together to build a better health system and society free from the preventable suffering, disability, and death caused by NCDs. COVID-19 & NCDs
NCDs are a large group of health conditions that are generally not spread from person to person and used to be called chronic illness until 2000 when the Millennium Develop Goals force a new definition. Often the 5 main NCDs groups of conditions are noted: diabetes, circulatory disorders, mental health, cancer, and chronic respiratory illnesses. However, there are many more conditions that do not get a mention. Globally NCDs conditions are responsible for 41 million deaths annually and they are leading cause of death in South Africa since 2013. Diabetes is the leading cause of death of South African women.
For this important COVID-19 and NCDs+ advocacy project nearly 90 civil society organisations are collaborating
- Cancer Alliance South Africa
- Dementia SA
- Epilepsy SA
- Federation for Mental Health SA
- Global Mental Health Peer Network
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) SA
- National Kidney Foundation SA
- Palliative Treatment for Children SA (PatchSA)
- South African Disability Alliance
The SA NCDs Alliance's goal is to ensure that the policy window of opportunity opened by the COVID-19 pandemic is used to ensure that NCDs are made a priority in government policy through collaborative NCDs civil society on a par with HIV & TB.
For more information, please contact Dr Vicki Pinkney-Atkinson, Director of SA NCD Alliance at email vicki@sancda.org.za | Call 083 38 38-159.
