DRC NCDI Poverty Commission Meets To Set Priorities

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) NCDI Poverty Commission convened from 25-26 October to review NCDI data as part of a priority-setting meeting. The goal of this two-day workshop was to prioritize NCDs and establish recommendations for the treatment of severe NCDIs in the DRC. As a result of this workshop, a list of 25 priority NCDs with their estimated costs was developed and validated by all the participants. Sickle cell anaemia came up on top of the list followed by cancer.

Earlier in the fall, the team met to discuss national NCDI data as part of an initial situation analysis. On 27 September in Kinshasa, the commission noted that NCDs and injuries account for 42% of the disease burden of disease in the DRC. In later discussions, commissioners emphasized the importance of national awareness of NCDIs.

During the recent priority-setting meeting in October, the commission worked to establish a framework to identify these needs and create appropriate interventions. Commission members who drove this conversation were Dr. Marc Yambayamba and Dr. Aimée Lulebo from the DRC NCD commission and faculty at the University of Kinshasa School of Public Health as well as Dr. Emmanuel Mensah, Managing Director of the Center for Integration Science in Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and West Africa Regional Lead for the NCDI Poverty Network. The Commission noted that hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias, gynecological cancers, diabetes mellitus, and drug-related disorders are all high priorities.