Pretoria - Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has made a commitment to do everything possible to reverse the scourge of non-communicable diseases.
Speaking on Friday at the launch of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Healthy Lifestyles Day held in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, Motsoaledi noted that South Africa and the rest of the region had similar problems.
"HIV and AIDS is consuming our populations, our resources for health are shrinking and human resources for health are limited.
"This is an unacceptable situation and we have a responsibility to reverse it, otherwise the region that future generations will inherit will be something not to be proud of," Motsoaledi told the SADC region's health ministers.
The World Health Organisation places the burden of non-communicable diseases in southern Africa at two or three times higher than that of developed countries.
On Saturday, the health experts and researchers in the area of non-communicable diseases will be meeting to thoroughly look into the problem and exploring various ways to address it.
