Ghana is scaling up two evidence-based interventions to tackle the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with NCD-CareNet extending across three districts and a WhatsApp-based nutrition tool called Nutribot beginning national deployment from May 1, 2026.
The initiatives, both developed under the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Disease Control in West Africa, known as STOP NCD, were the centrepiece of a three-day international symposium held in Accra from April 28 to April 30. The gathering brought together health leaders, policymakers and researchers from more than 12 countries under the theme “Ensuring Sustainability from Global Health Research Centres.”
NCDs account for roughly 43 percent of all deaths in Ghana, with hypertension affecting nearly one in three adults aged 30 and above. Despite this burden, a significant share of cases remain undiagnosed or poorly managed, a gap the two interventions are designed to close.
NCD-CareNet operates at the community level, integrating screening for NCDs and risk factors, a digital tracking system using an electronic health tracker, and linkages to the Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) framework. Pilot implementation ran from August 2025 in selected sub-districts within Ga South, Shai-Osudoku and Kwahu Afram Plains North, with full rollout beginning in February 2026. The programme is co-led by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), in partnership with Ashesi University (AU) and research institutions in Burkina Faso and Niger.
Prof. Irene Agyepong, Co-Director of STOP NCD, said the intervention was designed to address complex health system failures through integrated, people-centred approaches, strengthening referral systems and generating data to guide national policy.
Nutribot, developed by the Ashesi University team led by Provost Prof. Angela Owusu-Ansah, addresses a stark reality in Ghana’s health system: for every 600 Ghanaians, there is only one nutritionist, and most are concentrated in urban areas. The platform draws on a database of more than 20,000 research papers and delivers personalised, culturally relevant dietary advice through WhatsApp, including budget-based meal planning using familiar Ghanaian foods. “It is supposed to take the place of the nutritionist who is not around and is pretty much a nutritionist in your pocket,” Prof. Owusu-Ansah said.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh described the NCD burden as alarming and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to community engagement, routine screening and reliable access to medicines. He commended the NIHR and the United Kingdom Government for their partnership role in advancing Ghana’s progress toward universal health coverage.
The STOP NCD Centre operates across Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger, with each country pursuing distinct but complementary strategies within primary healthcare systems.
