KENYA —The Ministry of Health in Kenya has collaborated with Development Gateway through the Division of Tobacco Control to address the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.
As part of this effort, the TCDI Kenya dashboard has been launched to combat the growing burden of tobacco use and its impact on NCDs.
By providing policymakers with the necessary data to make informed decisions, the platform is expected to make a significant contribution to reducing tobacco use and mitigating its related health impacts in Kenya.
Tobacco use is a significant contributor to NCDs in Kenya, including cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive airway disease, diabetes, cancers, and renal diseases.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, these diseases account for over 50% of hospital admissions and 39% of all deaths annually in the country.
The TCDI dashboard provides policymakers with a powerful tool to drive evidence-based policies and interventions aimed at preventing and managing NCDs in Kenya.
At the launch of the TCDI dashboard in Nairobi, Dr. Patrick Amoth, Director General for Health in Kenya, emphasized the need for data-driven decision-making to address the country’s NCD crisis.
He highlighted the importance of leveraging innovative approaches and tools such as the TCDI dashboard, which provides critical insights into the impact of tobacco use in the country.
The TCDI Kenya dashboard is one of several country-specific platforms developed by Development Gateway in collaboration with the University of Cape Town’s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP).
Other TCDI country dashboards already exist for South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, while the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dashboard is soon to be launched.
Each country-specific TCDI dashboard is designed to address barriers to data use in tobacco control and provide policymakers with the data necessary to make informed decisions on reducing tobacco use.
The TCDI dashboard extensively covers seven themes that are crucial to tobacco control efforts, including the prevalence of tobacco use, and tobacco agriculture farming.
Other themes covered include tobacco taxation, and illicit trade, tobacco cessation services, enforcement of tobacco control policies, tobacco industry interference, and the health burden of tobacco use.
By providing policymakers with this data, the TCDI dashboard will help reduce tobacco use and improve public health outcomes in Kenya and other African countries.
This innovative approach to addressing NCDs is crucial not only in Kenya but also globally, where NCDs are a significant public health challenge.
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