World Hypertension Day 2026

Message from WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi

Hypertension is rising rapidly across the WHO African Region, driven by urbanization, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol and tobacco. This trend poses a growing threat to health, well-being and sustainable development.

This year's theme, "Controlling Hypertension Together", underscores a simple truth: tackling high blood pressure is a shared responsibility. It requires coordinated action by individuals, families, communities, health workers and governments.

Often called the "silent killer", hypertension frequently goes undetected. Yet it significantly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and premature death. Globally, an estimated 1.4 billion people live with hypertension, but only one in four have it under control. In the African Region, up to 44% of adults aged 30-79 years are affected, yet in most countries fewer than half are diagnosed, and fewer than one in five have it under control. This is a silent crisis unfolding across our communities.

On this World Hypertension Day, we must make blood pressure measurement routine. Everyone should know their numbers. Early detection saves lives and effective treatment is available.

However, detection alone is not enough. Sustained control requires strong primary health care systems, reliable access to affordable medicines, regular follow-up and long-term patient support.

WHO is working with countries to prevent and control hypertension. This means:

• promoting healthier diets, reduced salt intake, physical activity, and the elimination of tobacco and harmful alcohol use;
• integrating blood pressure screening into routine primary care services;
• implementing effective and affordable treatment protocols, including medicines that combine multiple drugs in a single pill;
• expanding the use of WHO technical packages such as the package of essential noncommunicable disease interventions for primary health care and the technical package for cardiovascular disease management in primary health care, which provide simple, cost-effective approaches to prevent, detect, and treat hypertension through primary health care; and
• strengthening health systems with better data, affordable tests and medicines, and national targets aligned with the global goal of to reducing uncontrolled hypertension by 25%.

Equity must be at the centre of these efforts. Strengthening primary health care and ensuring that everyone, especially people in underserved communities, can access the care they need is fundamental to reducing disparities and achieving universal health coverage.

Today, I call on governments, health workers, communities and individuals to act decisively. Let us raise awareness, expand screening, improve care and support people living with hypertension to lead healthier, longer lives.

Together, we can reverse the tide of hypertension in Africa and together, we can defeat the silent killer.