Health experts have identified Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as the leading cause of death among adults in Ghana, calling for urgent and collective action to address the growing public health challenge.
The concern was raised by Dr. John Williams during a keynote address at the Annual Scientific Review Meeting of the Navrongo Health Research Centre held on March 10, 2026, at the Centre’s conference hall in Navrongo.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, Dr. Williams emphasized the seriousness of the situation, describing NCDs as a major burden on the country’s health system.
“Non-communicable diseases are a big burden to Ghanaians. They make a lot of people sick and they kill many people. In fact, they are listed as the major killer of adults in Ghana today,” he said.
According to him, the most common NCDs affecting Ghanaians include cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases.
Dr. Williams attributed the rising cases largely to lifestyle-related risk factors including smoking, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity. He noted that changing dietary habits, particularly the increasing consumption of sugary drinks, fast foods, and alcohol, are exposing many people to serious health conditions later in life.
“We often think the food our older generations used to eat is old-fashioned, so we prefer fancy foods. We consume alcohol and sugary drinks, and these habits expose us to conditions that later become serious health problems which cost a lot of money to manage,” he explained.
He therefore urged the public to adopt healthier lifestyles by paying closer attention to their diets, engaging in regular physical activity, avoiding smoking, and reducing harmful alcohol consumption to lower the risk of developing NCDs.
Meanwhile, Director of the Navrongo Health Research Centre, Dr. Patrick Ansah, said the Centre has intensified efforts over the past five years to strengthen research and improve the diagnosis and treatment of NCDs at the community level.
He disclosed that the Centre has assembled a multidisciplinary team comprising social scientists, clinical scientists, and laboratory scientists to advance research and interventions in the area of non-communicable diseases.
“Over the past five years, we have built a strong team to focus on NCD research. We are working to ensure that universal health coverage for NCDs is realized by improving diagnosis and treatment at the lowest levels of the healthcare system,” Dr. Ansah stated.
He added that the Centre has made significant progress in improving infrastructure and building human resource capacity to enhance its research and service delivery mandate.
Dr. Ansah further indicated that the Centre continues to support the government and the Ghana Health Service by providing advanced research facilities to test the quality and safety of drugs and vaccines manufactured in the country.
“In all ways, our infrastructure is improving, our human capacity is improving, and we remain committed to delivering on our mandate as a centre of excellence in science and research,” he said.
This year’s Annual Scientific Review Meeting was held under the theme: “Improving Non-communicable Diseases Prevention and Management at the Primary Healthcare Level: The Role of Health Research.”