PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Policy
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1684688
This article is part of the Research TopicTackling Non-Communicable Diseases and Epidemiological Transition in Low- and Middle-Income CountriesView all 3 articles
Pharmacy-based non-communicable diseases screening has high potential for reach: lessons from Rwanda
Provisionally accepted
Calvin Chiu1*
Melsa Omaya2Francois Uwinkindi3,4Dudu Tang5Samuel Mwubahamana2Francine Miller2Josh Ruxin2Matthew Rehrig2Jean-Baptise Mazarati2
Ida Alexandra de Cordier2
Jenny Liu6David Zapol2- 1University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
- 2Goodlife Access, Kigali, Rwanda
- 3Republic of Rwanda Ministry of Health, Kigali, Rwanda
- 4Rwanda Biomedical Center, Kigali, Rwanda
- 5University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
- 6University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
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Low and middle-income countries are entering an epidemiological transition where noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) increasingly contribute to disease burden. While Rwanda has one of the most robust public health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, rapid urbanization is leading to an emerging middle-class population who are at high risk for NCDs, but who also underutilize preventive care. The Goodlife Access pilot program in Rwanda screened over 9,000 individuals for diabetes, hypertension, and obesity over 18 months for free; 83% of individuals showed abnormal screening results, 90% of whom had no prior diagnosis. Pharmacy-based screenings effectively reached a high-risk, underserved population and highlights the potential of community pharmacies to amplify NCD diagnoses. While one-third of those screened returned for confirmatory testing at the pharmacy, more work is needed to bolster re-engagement, including addressing fear of confirmatory testing and potential medical treatment costs. Given the successful pilot, Goodlife Access is expanding access to NCD screening while incorporating community-based health insurance and user donations to enhance sustainability.
Keywords: healthcare delivery, global health, screening, Non-communicable diseases, Pharmacy, Rwanda
Received: 12 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chiu, Omaya, Uwinkindi, Tang, Mwubahamana, Miller, Ruxin, Rehrig, Mazarati, de Cordier, Liu and Zapol. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Calvin Chiu, calvin.chiu@ucsf.edu
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