Non-infectious diseases such as cancer rising sharply in Africa

As attention turns to viruses including Zika and Ebola, the World Health Organisation warns diseases like diabetes will pose a bigger threat by 2030

More people in Africa will die from diseases such as cancer, heart problems or diabetes than infectious diseases by 2030, according to the World Health Organisation, which found the continent recorded the highest prevalence rates of high blood pressure in the world.

In a report published on Tuesday, the WHO warns that the number of deaths globally from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is set to increase by at least 15% from the organisation's 2010 estimates, and that 44 million people will die of NCDs over the decade up to 2020, 4 million of those in the African region.