Chief wants information on non-communicable disease

Group village head Khombe in Traditional Authority Mtema in Lilongwe has bemoaned lack of information on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in his area.

The chief said this on Monday during sn NCDs awareness campaign in his area organised by Malawi Non-communicable Disease Alliance as part of Global Week for Action on NCDs campaign that took place from September 7 to 13 2020.

“There have been cases where people died from stroke before being taken to hospital because people were not aware of the symptoms,” he said.

In an interview, the alliance’s member Henry Ndhlovu said traditional leaders are important in as far as disseminating NCD messages is concerned.

“Communities should know signs and symptoms of the diseases so that they should know when to access health services,” he said.

Ndhlovu said traditional leaders should encourage more women to go for cervical cancer screening.

Malawi Non-communicable Disease Alliance was established in 2016 by eight member organisations that deal with cancer, diabetes, stroke and hypertension.