ReviewPloS one2020
How well are non-communicable disease services being integrated into primary health care in Africa: A review of progress against World Health Organization's African regional targets.
Review in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Ambient air pollution and non-communicable respiratory illness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2022Pooled it
- Partnerships and organizational capacity drive sustainability of integrated hypertension-HIV care in primary health care in Uganda.BMC health services research · 2026Trial
- Fragmented prevention in rural South Africa: a qualitative study of Biokineticists' perspectives on health system barriers to early detection of non-communicable diseases.Global health action · 2026Article
- Assessment of the performance of primary healthcare in eight African countries: based on the Composite Fuzzy Index.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Co-designing the 'Empower Community Health' programme: A capacity-building initiative to support community health workers' non-communicable disease health promotion in Ethiopia.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Profiling the disease burden in Teso subregion during community-based medical education and research services at Soroti University: a prospective study protocol.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Prevalence of diabetes and associated risk factors in Ga Mashie, Accra, Ghana: a cross-sectional CARE Diabetes community-based survey.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Actionable Pharmacogenomics and Essential Medicines: An Analysis of WHO and African Lists for Safer and Efficacious Drug Use.Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics · 2026Review
- Evidence on implementing WHO Package of Essential Non-communicable (PEN) Diseases Interventions: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Implementation of the World Health Organization's Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease Interventions: an overview of reviews.Public health reviews · 2026Review
- Strengthening non-communicable disease health systems through sustainable health partnerships in the Horn of Africa using lessons from the Wolverhampton-Somaliland Global Health Partnership.Discover public health · 2026Review
- Prevalence, Awareness, and Treatment of Hypertension in 37 African Countries: Trends From 2003 to 2022.Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2025Article
- Integrated Hypertension-HIV Care in Botswana: Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Determinants of Success in an Implementation Trial.Global implementation research and applications · 2025Article
- How Iranian primary health care policies influenced equity: a historical critical analysis from policymakers' perspectives.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Stakeholder perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to integrating cardiovascular disease and diabetes management at primary care in Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Article
- The contextual awareness, response and evaluation (CARE) diabetes project: study design for a quantitative survey of diabetes prevalence and non-communicable disease risk in Ga Mashie, Accra, Ghana.Global health action · 2024Article
- How Does the Context Shape the Technical Support from the Provincial Health Administration to District Health Management Teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo? A Realist Evaluation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveIn Africa, mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is projected to overtake the combined mortality from communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases by 2030. To address this growing NCD burden, primary health care (PHC) systems will require substantial re-orientation. In this study, we reviewed the progress of African countries towards integrating essential NCD services into PHC.
methodsA review of World Health Organization (WHO) reports was conducted for all 47 countries in the WHO African Region. To report each country's progress, we used an a priori framework developed by the WHO regional office for Africa (AFRO). Twelve indicators were used to measure countries' progress. The proportion of countries meeting each indicator was tabulated using a heat map. Correlation between country income status and attainment of each indicator was also assessed.
findingsNo country met all the recommended indicators to integrate NCD services into PHC and seven countries met none of the indicators. Few countries (30%) had nationally approved guidelines for NCD management and very few reported availabilities of all essential NCD medicines (13%) and technologies (11%) in PHC facilities. There was no overall correlation between a country's GDP per capita and the aggregate of targets being met (rho = 0.23; P = .12). There was, however, a modestly negative correlation between out-of-pocket expenditure and overall country progress (rho = -0.58; P < .001).
conclusionProgress by AFRO Member States in integrating NCD care into PHC is variable across the region. Enhanced government commitment and judicious resource allocation to prioritize NCDs are needed. Particular areas of focus include increasing the uptake of simplified guidelines for NCDs; increasing workforce capacity to manage NCDs; and removing access barriers to essential medicines and basic diagnostic technologies.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.