On 23rd October 2021, our team members Juliet Nandawula and Rebecca Ingenhoff presented the progress on our cross-sectional, collaborative “IMPEDE CVD” project at the German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA) day in Berlin.
Globally, CVDs are the leading cause of death. Over 75 % of CVD deaths occur in LMICs. Uncontrolled Diabetes and hypertension are some of the most important risk factor for CVDs (1). In Uganda, 20.2% have uncontrolled hypertension (2). One of the major factors associated with uncontrolled hypertension is non-adherence with the prescribed antihypertensive medication (3). Non-adherence is mostly associated with a lack of access to medicines (4).
With IMPEDE CVD, we aim to co-develop an mHealth platform together with end-users. The platform can be accessed through an USSD platform via a personalized SIM-card. We will work with community health workers, clinics and patients to strengthen the availability and affordability of NCD medication in rural Uganda. Through pooled payments via the mHealth platform, we target to make drugs more accessible for rural, vulnerable populations. This will protect patients that suffer from hypertension from catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures.
IMPEDE CVD is a cross-sectional project run by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, ACCESS Uganda, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health and the mTOMADY gGmbH.