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Inside Health News Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire

Tanzania Hosts African NCD Summit; Health Budget for NCDs Up from 7% to 24%

DAR ES SALAAM, 25 June 2026

The 3rd International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa concluded in Dar es Salaam on 25 June after three days of deliberations attended by health ministers, policymakers, civil society organisations, development partners, and people living with noncommunicable diseases from across the African continent. The conference was convened under the theme "Advancing progress toward SDG targets for NCDs in Africa by 2030."

Speaking on behalf of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania's Minister of Health Mohamed Omary Mchengerwa announced that the country's budget allocation for NCDs had increased from seven percent to over 24 percent between 2020 and 2024, and that 80 percent of Tanzanians can now access health services within five kilometres of their homes. He described the shift as a deliberate move from reactive treatment towards prevention and community-based care.

WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Mohamed Janabi told the conference that Africa loses approximately US$1 trillion annually due to NCD-related productivity losses, and called for scaled-up implementation of the PEN-Plus model. PEN-Plus is an African-led strategy that decentralises advanced diagnostics and care for severe chronic diseases including type 1 diabetes, rheumatic and congenital heart disease, sickle cell disease, and cancer to first-level referral hospitals. More than 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live with these conditions. Twenty countries in the WHO African Region are currently implementing or initiating PEN-Plus. The conference was hosted by the Government of Tanzania in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Africa and the NCDI Poverty Network.

Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa

Inside Health News Desk| East Africa. Urge- DevWire