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Over the past century, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in high-income countries has shown a sharp rise that then plateaued, and a similar trend has been observed in newly industrialised countries. IBD has long been considered uncommon in sub-Saharan Africa, possibly reflecting low exposure to environmental risk factors described in high-income populations. Alternatively, individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa might have a different genetic disposition. However, some cases of IBD might remain undetected in sub-Saharan Africa because of a lack of awareness, deficiencies in diagnostic and clinical capacity, and a substantial rate of misdiagnosis due to the high burden of infectious diseases. There are few published data describing the natural history of IBD in sub-Saharan Africa, and the true burden of the disease remains largely unknown, although there is some evidence that the incidence of IBD is rising in this region. This Series paper summarises the present understanding of IBD and challenges facing clinicians when diagnosing this disease in sub-Saharan Africa., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests GW reports travel support from AbbVie and Janssen and speakers honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, and Adcock Ingram. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is generally considered a disease of high-income countries and is regarded as rare in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this assumption is almost certainly an underestimate, and the high burden of communicable diseases makes IBD in sub-Saharan Africa difficult to detect. Furthermore, some gastrointestinal infections can closely mimic IBD, contributing to delays in diagnosis and complicating therapeutic decision making. Constraints in endoscopic capacity alongside a scarcity of qualified diagnostic pathologists add to the difficulties. Implementing evidence-based guidelines recommended by international societies is challenging, mostly due to high costs and unavailability of medication. However, cost-effective approaches can still be implemented to manage IBD in sub-Saharan Africa as the predominant disease phenotype is mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis, which often responds to treatment with basic medication. In this Series paper, we summarise the current management of IBD in sub-Saharan Africa and propose how it can be tailored to suit the epidemiological and socioeconomic specificities of the region. We also discuss measures required to address existing challenges, such as educating health-care workers about the diagnosis and management of IBD or improving endoscopic capacity., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests GW reports travel support from AbbVie and Janssen and speakers honoraria from Janssen, AbbVie, and Adcock Ingram. DE reports travel support from Janssen, speakers fees from Cipla, Janssen, and Takeda, and declares directorship of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Africa. EF reports honoraria from Janssen. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)