Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for nearly three-quarters of global mortality, with low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) bearing the greatest share of premature deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa, long characterised by a predominance of communicable diseases, is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition, resulting in a persistent double burden of disease. The Horn of Africa—comprising Ethiopia, Somalia (including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland), Djibouti, and Eritrea—illustrates this transition, as rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease rise amid fragile health systems, conflict, displacement, and food insecurity.
Falobi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.