This activity is an opportunity to contribute to my e-Portfolio as well as my Course Paper. It helped me develop competencies in scholarship and systems thinking by exploring the policy landscape around my chosen health challenge.
For this part, I researched policies at international, regional, and local levels that address my chosen health challenge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa.
Approximately 75% of total worldwide deaths occur from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory disease. NCDs cause 86% of premature deaths among low- and middle-income nations (The Guardian, 2024). NCDs form a serious health issue in South Africa, calling for comprehensive global, regional, and national policy.
This strategy seeks to reduce premature NCD death by 25% by 2025 with nine universal goals and a set of policy options to member states (World Health Organization, 2013).
As a measure against the increasing challenge of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the African Union is striving to implement policies that are compliant with the WHO's Global Action Plan.
With a focus on prevention, treatment, and care interventions, South Africa has developed this plan to address the rising NCD burden (National Department of Health, 2022).
Coordinated efforts at all levels are needed to address NCDs and execute effective policies and interventions.
Having looked for different forms of evidence that speak to the policy domain related to my local health issue, I've analyzed the policy landscape around non-communicable diseases in South Africa.
South Africa has a somewhat well-developed non-communicable disease (NCD) policy environment, with many national, regional, and international policies addressing the issue. Nevertheless, implementing the large corpus of policy-directed literature remains challenging, particularly in resource-constrained settings.
There is a wealth of international policy documentation on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), particularly from organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs (2013–2020) and its Implementation Roadmap (2023–2030) provide comprehensive frameworks for addressing NCDs (WHO, 2013; WHO, 2023).
Similarly, after recognizing the increasing burden of NCDs, the African Union aligned its approach with WHO standards.
The National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2022–2027, which outlines specific objectives for prevention, treatment, and healthcare system integration, has been put into effect nationally in South Africa (National Department of Health, 2022). Proactive measures are demonstrated by other local initiatives, such as laws imposing a sugar tax and restrictions on the sodium content of processed foods.
Despite the existence of policy literature on NCDs, there are significant gaps:
Though there are still implementation issues and context-specific deficiencies, South Africa has a solid policy basis for treating NCDs. More specific and enforced methods are required, particularly for disadvantaged populations, even while global and regional policies provide organized guidelines.
To determine how present policies affect NCD trends and how interventions might be customized to the particular health environment of South Africa, more study is required.
This exploration of the policy landscape surrounding non-communicable diseases has given me valuable insights into how policy operates at different levels—from global frameworks to local implementation.
What strikes me most is the abundance of policy documents and frameworks compared to the challenges of implementation. The gap between well-crafted policies and their practical application in resource-constrained settings highlights a critical area for improvement in health systems.
The analysis also reveals the importance of context-specific approaches. While global policies provide important guidance, they must be adapted to address unique local factors. In South Africa's case, this means acknowledging the interplay between NCDs and issues like HIV, poverty, and food insecurity.
This activity has strengthened my systems thinking by demonstrating how policies at different levels interact and how they both shape and are shaped by various contextual factors. It has also emphasized the importance of evaluating policy effectiveness rather than just policy existence—a critical consideration for my future work in health systems.
Below is documentation that provides evidence of my work on this policy exploration activity.