As chronic disease rates rise, Mayors urge action for healthier food in African cities

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 31 October 2024:

Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network of 74 cities committed to saving lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, is urging action for healthier food in African cities.

Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with World Health Organization and the global health organization – Vital Strategies, the initiative enables cities around the world to deliver a high-impact policy or programmatic intervention to reduce NCDs and injuries in their communities.

Today, a group of Mayors representing cities across Africa including Freetown’s Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, published this statement: “As leaders of cities that are home to more than 10 million people, we are united in our alarm about a major threat to the health of Africa’s urban residents. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), in particular cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, are rising quickly on the continent, with deadly consequences.

“Africans are consuming more and more ultra-processed products containing high levels of salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. This food is contributing to poor health outcomes.

“That is why today, in line with our commitment to the Partnership for Healthy Cities global network, we call on Africa’s urban leaders to accelerate efforts to ensure healthy food is easily accessible, especially in government-managed buildings such as schools and hospitals, and that unhealthy products are furthest from reach.

“NCDs, also known as chronic diseases, are the leading cause of premature death worldwide, but in Africa, cities must contend with chronic food scarcity in addition to the effects of these products. The need to shape food environments that are responsive to this ‘double burden of malnutrition’—characterized by both undernutrition and increasing obesity—has never been more urgent.

“The strain of NCDs on local health systems is immense. Yet this reality also positions city governments such as ours to adopt policies that have an immediate impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

“We, as African mayors, are at a critical juncture in this public health challenge: Inaction only ensures more people die from preventable diseases. Together, we can feed and nourish our people, strengthen our economies and ensure a brighter future for the continent.”

The statement is signed by Maurice Konaté, PDS of the Commune of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where the city is designing nutritional standards and developing a policy on foods served in public schools and hospitals, with a focus on reducing salt and sugar consumption.

Ibrahim Cissé Bacongo, Minister Governor of the Autonomous District of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where the city is designing nutritional standards aimed at reducing excessive salt consumption in public schools.

Barthélémy Dias, Mayor of Dakar, Senegal, where the city is designing nutritional standards aimed at reducing excessive salt consumption in public schools.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The city is developing a policy aimed at reducing excessive salt consumption in public schools and hospitals.