Jornal de Neurologia Pediátrica e Medicina

Challenges of the Management of Stroke in Sub Saharan Africa: Evaluating Awareness, Access and Action

Abstract

Bertha Chioma Ekeh*

Background: Stroke is one of the major public health problems in the world today. It is the third leading cause of death worldwide after ischaemic heart disease and cancer. Stroke mortality is especially high in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) which accounts for as much as 87% of all the stroke deaths. Stroke however has become a treatable disease.
Methods: We reviewed the literature on Stroke in SSA. We searched the PubMed database for studies on stroke in SSA, and included those that were community based, conducted in any SSA country and reported on awareness, mortality, risk factors and care.
Results: We found few community-based studies. Most of the studies were hospital based. There were more studies on stroke mortality and risk factors in SSA. Few studies dealt with issues of access to stroke care. Most of the studies on stroke care showed that care is still mostly supportive. South Africa however had more stroke units and state of the art stroke care than other countries in SSA.
Conclusion: There have not been many studies on optimal stroke care in SSA. The few studies seen showed that care has been majorly supportive.