Zambia launches mobile phone survey on non-communicable diseases

The Zambian government on Thursday launched the first-ever survey on non-communicable disease which will use a mobile phone technology.

Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya said during the launch that the survey will be a two-way communication that will elicit responses from the general public.

"This will be a two-way communication survey using a multi-model technology platform that will elicit responses from the general public on risk factors that predispose citizens to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases," he said during the launch in Lusaka, the country's capital.

The survey, he said, was the first of its kind in the world aimed at preventing non-communicable diseases which were becoming a problem in the country by knowing which risk factors were prevalent.

Among the common identified risk factors include tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets such as high salt intake and inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as lack of physical activities, he added.

The ministry, he said, has collaborated with other government agencies such as the country's telecommunication and technology regulator, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), the country's biggest public university, the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee in order to carry out the survey thoroughly. Endit