ASTRAZENECA | HEALTHCARE | AFRICA

AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company, has announced a planned expansion of its access to healthcare program, Healthy Heart Africa (HHA), to 10 new countries, starting next year.

HHA currently present in nine countries, is designed to contribute to the prevention and control of hypertension and decrease the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) across Africa.

In 2019, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for one million deaths from CVDs worldwide and 13% of all deaths in Africa, the World Heart Federation states.

Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, is the most important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

It is a serious medical disease that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, among other health problems. It is a leading cause of premature death worldwide. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that Africa has the highest prevalence of hypertension at 27%, hence the need for prevention and management interventions.

In 2011, the United Nations set a goal to reduce the risk of premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 25% by the year 2025.

HHA contributes to strengthening health systems by working in partnership with local stakeholders to provide services such as free blood pressure screening and create education and awareness about CVDs and their risk factors.

It also provides blood pressure screening equipment and trains healthcare workers on guidelines to improve the quality of care.

Over 30.5 million blood pressure screenings have been conducted, and more than 9,900 healthcare workers have been trained by the program since 2014.

Vice President, Global Sustainability, Access to Healthcare, AstraZeneca Ashling Mulvaney said they believe in using the power of partnerships to provide equitable and affordable access to life-changing treatments for people, especially in low and middle-income countries.

“This expansion will increase our contribution to halting and reversing the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in Africa,” he said.

HHA has been recognized once again by the 2022 Access to Medicine Index, as a best practice for its role in contributing to access to affordable healthcare in Africa.

Its planned expansion will be to Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Existing programs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania (including Zanzibar), Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Uganda will continue while being implemented by a range of partners, including the Africa Christian Health Associations Platform (ACHAP) and PATH.

In Uganda, in May this year, AstraZeneca’s HHA program marked two years of action against hypertension, working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Protestant Medical Bureau (UPMB).

A 2014 national STEPwise survey revealed that 24.4 percent of Ugandans have hypertension.

In addition, 70 percent had never had their blood pressure measured, while 76.1 percent of those found with high blood pressure were unaware and hence not on treatment.

Following its launch in Uganda in May 2020, up to the end of March 2022 HHA conducted over 3.9 million blood pressure screenings, aiming to contribute to the prevention and control of CVD in the country through early identification of elevated blood pressure.

Dr. Gerald Mutungi, Assistant Commissioner in Charge of Noncommunicable Diseases, Ministry of Health, Uganda, emphasized the need to detect high blood pressure early to control it before it develops into more serious conditions like stroke.

He said collaboration with HHA has made screening services available at the primary healthcare level.

HHA has had an impact on the community, according to ACHAP Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer Nkatha Njeru, because it integrates into existing healthcare systems to provide blood pressure screening and other related services.

“We can boost preventive healthcare for hypertension. The level of integration into existing health services will increase under this new expansion model.

“Through community-based interventions and routine screening for blood pressure for all who walk through the activated facilities, we can identify cases of elevated blood pressure and refer them for diagnosis.

“As a result of these measures, HHA has been able to identify cases where hypertension status was previously unknown and link them to care,” Njeru said.

Helen McGuire, Global Programme Leader, Non-Communicable Diseases at PATH a global nonprofit entity dedicated to ending health inequity said the approach of HHA to leverage investments in other areas of health to reach people living with co and multi-morbidities, is a practical example of what is needed going forward in global health.

The expansion will contribute to HHA’s ambition to reach 10 million people with elevated blood pressure across Africa by 2025.

According to experts, even though hypertension is a silent killer with no symptoms, it can be avoided by regularly exercising, eating more fruits and vegetables, avoiding tobacco, avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol, and limiting foods high in saturated fats, among other risk factors.