Financing non-communicable disease care – the power of partnership

Over the past two decades, there has been a steep increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across Africa, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In fact, NCDs are expected to overtake communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) diseases combined as the leading cause of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. 1,2

NCDs can have a devastating impact on patients, families and communities. But the rising tide of these chronic diseases also has implications for Africa’s economies. Healthy and productive populations form the foundation for economic growth and research consistently supports the link between better health outcomes and improved economic performance. 3,4,5 This raises one of the most pressing questions in healthcare: how can governments and healthcare systems navigate the economic challenges of today to invest in healthcare to build a healthier and more prosperous future?

There is no single solution to this question, but we believe public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be an important part of the answer.

Every African country has different healthcare system needs and barriers to care vary widely. Across the region, our partnership initiatives reflect this diversity. In Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia and beyond, we are working closely with our partners to drive progress on awareness, diagnosis and treatment.

The impact of investing in healthcare is especially apparent in the fight against breast cancer. Five in 10 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Africa today will not be here in five years’ time. 6 In high-income countries, more than 90% of women will survive at five years, but in Africa that figure is just 50%. 6,7 This is a tragedy for Africa’s women, their families and communities. It’s also a significant issue for the region’s economies. Breast
cancer takes women out for the workforce and has an estimated economic impact of between 0.4 and 0.7% of gross domestic product (GDP). 8

Our ambition is to see these breast cancer survival rates dramatically improve – and we are engaging in a number of PPPs in Africa to help make this happen.

Since 2014, Roche has worked with the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Health to pioneer innovative approaches that not only improve breast cancer outcomes for patients, but also strengthen the country’s healthcare system. Our partnership is focused on:

• Infrastructure support to enhance oncology facilities

• Digital health solutions to optimise care pathways with AI

• Innovative funding mechanisms co-developed with local stakeholders

Between 2020 and 2024 the collaboration:8

• Improved survival rates: Five-year breast cancer survival rates rose from 20% to 56% nationally and from 20% to 63% at Côte d’Ivoire’s National Radiotherapy Center (CNRAO). Women diagnosed early at CNRAO now have an 85% survival rate, nearing high-income country standards.7

• Doubled patient capacity: The number of breast cancer patients treated annually has doubled, driven by investments in new cancer centres, advanced therapy and AI-assisted care pathways.

• Built expertise: Over 2,000 healthcare professionals have been trained, with positive feedback on improved diagnostic and treatment capabilities.

• Delivered economic benefits: The partnership has generated €55 million in socio-economic benefits for the country. With a return on investment (ROI) of 2.82, it has created significant value from the government’s investment of €19.5 million.

In Nigeria we are working with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to help drive improvements in cancer. Seven clinical Centres of Excellence were established across the country in the project’s pilot phase and the team is now working to scale this up to 11 more Centres.

In Kenya, we are proud to be part of a unique partnership between Roche, the County Governments, the County First Ladies Association and private partners including Amref Kenya and patient advocacy groups. Together, we have established 19 “EMPOWER Clinics” that aim to help break silos and overcome system challenges by establishing clinics that focus on integrated care for breast and cervical cancer. Importantly, these clinics have also been able to extend their support to cover prostate cancer, hypertension and diabetes screening. 

What we have learned through our experiences of establishing PPPs to support cancer care is helping us to build partnerships to improve the care of other NCDs. 

Through the Mwanga Access Program, Roche Diabetes Care is part of a collaboration with the Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance Kenya (NCD Alliance Kenya) and Medtronic LABS, in partnership with the Meru County government, with a shared goal to improve diabetes care in Kenya. Since its inception in 2022, the programme has achieved the remarkable milestones of screening over 18,000 people for diabetes and training over 200 healthcare providers in diabetes management. 

In Tunisia, we have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Health to optimise care for people living with serious neurological conditions including multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Through this partnership, we are supporting eight adult and two paediatric neurology centres, with a focus on improving the patient journey by using digital tools for patient monitoring and registries. The partnership aims to strengthen infrastructure and capabilities through training, medical education and clinical trials and will create opportunities for Tunisia’s neurology teams to share their expertise and skills with medical teams from other African countries.     

These examples show us that – although there is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving care for NCDs in Africa – PPPs that support solutions tailored to local needs and diseases can have a real impact. 

These initiatives and others like them have the potential to strengthen Africa’s healthcare systems and turn the tide on NCDs to help to create a healthier future.