Taiwan, Eswatini launch metabolic chronic disease prevention program

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) Taiwan has launched a program to help Eswatini, the country's only African ally, strengthen metabolic chronic disease prevention, according to the government-funded International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) on Monday.

The "Project for Strengthening Metabolic Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Systems" was officially launched after a signing ceremony held Sept. 4 at the Republic of China (Taiwan) embassy in Eswatini, the ICDF said in a press release.

The four-year plan, in collaboration with National Taiwan University Hospital's (NTUH) Hsinchu branch and Eswatini's health ministry, aims to assist the African nation in conducting community screening and increasing the referral rate for high-risk groups with chronic diseases, the agency said.

Such efforts are projected to help raise the treatment rate (at least once a year) of newly diagnosed patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension to 50 percent, it said.

Based on World Health Organization statistics, more than 90 percent of people in Eswatini are exposed to one or more risk factors of developing a metabolic syndrome.

According to the ICDF, the project will target the country's two most densely populated areas, the Manzini and Hhohho regions, with a health care initiative addressing those health conditions.

The agency already has many years of experience in promoting public health projects focusing on metabolic chronic diseases in countries such as Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, it said.

In addition to the achievements in maternal and child healthcare in Eswatini, this is the first time the NTUH's Hsinchu branch and Eswatini's health ministry have worked together to promote such a project in the field of metabolic chronic disease prevention, the ICDF said.