For decades, the burden of disease in developing countries including countries in Africa, was attributed to infectious disease, a consequence of the topography of the region, poverty, poor sanitation, hunger, drought, and the lack of education and adequate health care. The most common infectious diseases are Malaria, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and recently, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Avian Influenza. The burden of disease has in recent times changed for the developing world.  Chronic diseases have become huge problems. This change in type of disease burden is a result of technology, diet, sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco and alcohol, poor healthcare, lack of education, and new types of infection. The most common chronic diseases facing developing countries are coronary artery disease, cancer, respiratory problems, and diabetes.

Cancer once considered a “Western” disease, is now a disease of the developing parts of the world. Fifty per cent of the world’s cancer burden, in terms of both numbers of cases and deaths, already occurs in developing countries. Cancer has therefore emerged as a major public health problem in developing African countries for the first time, matching its effect in industrialized nations. When viewed in terms of mortality, there is little difference between developed and developing countries. The chance of a man dying from cancer before age 65 is just 18 percent higher in developed countries, whereas for women in developing countries this risk is actually higher than in the developed world (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2006).