Can digital health turn the tide on Africa’s silent killers?

Alphonse Mbarushimana, Executive Director of Rwanda NCD Alliance, told The New Times that embracing digital solutions is key to preventing and managing NCDs.

He said that as people are transitioning from traditional methods to digital-based practices, technology should not accelerate NCD risks, but rather help prevent them by reminding people to stay active, promoting healthy habits, and generating data that informs better health planning and policies.

He indicated that technology can help collect and monitor population health data, track disease prevalence, and support informed decision-making for both individuals and policymakers.

Mbarushimana said that the four major NCDs as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are generally driven by similar risk factors, including physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption.

These diseases, he said, are lifelong and costly to treat, underscoring that prevention is paramount.

Experts stressed that NCDs should be treated as a development challenge, not just a health issue. High treatment costs often push families into poverty.

Mbarushimana warned that without adequate prevention, NCDs will continue to erode economic productivity and increase inequality.

He said they often lead to disability – citing amputation due to diabetes and stroke-induced paralysis – and poverty, and are killing people aged between 39 and 65 — those in their productive years. This causes a huge loss in workforce, expertise, and national development, he said, stressing the need for digital tools such as Be He@lthy Be Mobile in dealing with NCDs.

“We should look at those complications that are affecting the development of the general population,” he said.

Jules Mugabo, Diseases Prevention and Control Team Leader at WHO Rwanda, explained that Be He@lthy Be Mobile provides digital tools and mobile applications offering health information, symptom guidance, and links to nearby health services.

The platform now works with 17 countries, reaching over 50 million people globally, he said, pointing out that it gives people access to reliable information on prevention, early signs, and where to seek needed care.

Mbarushimana said that artificial intelligence (AI) is already helping in the early detection of conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer by analysing symptoms and generating insights for early intervention.

Technology, he said, can customize prevention plans,” he said, pointing out that each person can have a personalised physical activity or diet plan powered by AI, just like a medication schedule.

A call for prevention and collaboration

Mugabo stressed the need to strengthen health insurance, citing the community-based health insurance schemes – which currently cover about 90 per cent of Rwanda’s population – in order to lower health care costs for citizens.

Most importantly, he called for a focus on prevention as the best strategy, because if a large proportion of the population becomes diabetic or hypertensive, even the health insurance systems could collapse.

On what should be done to deal with NCDs, overall, Joseph Ngamije recommended governments to adopt the WHO “Best Buys”: proven, cost-effective measures like raising taxes on tobacco and alcohol, limiting marketing of unhealthy foods, reducing salt and sugar content, eliminating trans fats, and designing cities that encourage walking and cycling.

“We must strengthen primary healthcare to detect and manage hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic diseases early — supported by reliable supply chains for essential medicines and diagnostics,” he said.

Debbie Rogers, CEO of Reach Digital Health, highlighted that partnerships with trusted institutions like WHO and national governments are essential for credibility.

She said that people must trust the health information they receive.