Stakeholders push for policies to improve life expectancy

Stakeholders on Tuesday pushed for policies aimed at increasing life expectancy in Nigeria and Africa to surpass 65 years.

They made this known at the two-day 2024 Gatefield Health Summit themed “Beyond 65: Preventing the Quiet Epidemic,” which addresses the escalating crisis of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the World Health Organisation, NCDs are the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. The term NCDs refers to a group of conditions that are not primarily caused by an acute infection, result in long-term health consequences, and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. The five main NCDs are cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung illnesses, and mental health conditions.

It stated that NCDs are increasingly becoming the main cause of mortality in the African region, accounting for 37 per cent of deaths in 2019, up from 24 per cent in 2000.

The global health body noted that cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent causes of NCD-related deaths, responsible for approximately 13 per cent of all deaths and 37 per cent of all NCD deaths in Africa.

“In 2020, there were around 1.1 million new cancer cases and 700,000 deaths in Africa. Africa accounts for 5.7 per cent of global cancer incidence but has a larger share of deaths, at more than 7 per cent.

Cancer death rates in Africa are projected to exceed the global average by 30 per cent in the next 20 years.

“The most common cancers in adults include breast (16.5 per cent) and cervical (13.1 per cent). There were 24 million people with diabetes in 2021. The total number of people with diabetes in the region is predicted to increase by 129 per cent to 55 million by 2045,” the WHO stated.

Speaking at the summit, Gatefield’s Board Co-Chair Sa’adatu Hamu-Aliyu said the summit aims to be a catalyst where living beyond 65 is not the exception but the general expectation.

She emphasised that the average Nigerian does not live past the age of 52, and the average African does not live past the age of 64, compared to Europe, Japan, and Canada, where life expectancy exceeds 80 years.

“This means that an average person in the developed world is likely to live at least 20 years longer than their counterparts in low- and middle-income populations. This summit is to address one of the most important pandemics, which is the crisis of people dying before the age of 65—not just Nigerians, but Africans in general.

“We want to live up to 80, which is the comparable life expectancy in other countries. There is a lack of adequate awareness of NCDs, and we need to push awareness towards a silent pandemic across Africa at large.

One of the focal areas of this summit is to understand the fiscal policies regarding NCDs and how we prepare primary health care centres to be the first line of defence or detection for NCDs.

“We invest heavily as a country, and even with our donor partners, in communicable diseases, but the reality today is that, as adults, we are more likely to die from NCDs than from communicable diseases because they represent over 74 per cent of deaths globally and almost 40 per cent of deaths in Africa.

“Among the core issues highlighted among the strategies is that we have a poor diet as a country; our environment is poor because we allow a lot of smoking to happen, and our health strategies towards building infrastructure are almost non-existent. We need to build infrastructure that will encourage people to work out.”

The President-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, stressed the importance of policy in addressing the growing burden of NCDs.

Shinkafi-Bagudu, who was represented by Dr Fatima Dambatta, said, “To mitigate the burden of NCDs, we need to discuss how. Policies are made by people, and to influence policy, we need to present a strong argument. When we do so, we can begin to see the change that we want.”

The former Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Babatunde Irukera, underscored the role of both physical and human infrastructure.

Irukera called for a combination of well-equipped facilities and adequately trained personnel to ensure accountability and effective care.

He said, “A robust policy and structure will combine hard and soft infrastructure in the forms of both physical structures such as facilities and equipment, and soft ones such as sufficiently trained human capital who recognise their roles and obligations as caregivers and institutions to ensure accountability.”

Unveiling Gatefield’s health strategy to tackle NCDs and the life expectancy gap, the organisation’s Lead Strategist, Adewunmi Emoruwa, highlighted that the plan targets the prevention of NCDs like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke.

Emoruwa said there is a need to fix our national diet, reduce tobacco use, walk daily, clear the air, and return to wholeness.

He noted that “A balanced diet low in salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats and rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can lower NCD risks and aid recovery. We need to not just create laws but enforce them; 30 minutes of movement a day could transform our health, and we want to promote that.

“We must advocate for policies that reduce emissions and protect our lungs, and there is a need for a community-driven wave of mental health interventions.

“The heart of our strategy lies in behavioural change and advocacy. NCDs like cancer and heart disease are not death sentences if caught early; we need the support of policymakers, and we will push policymakers to pass laws that protect lives.”