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During a recent workshop organised by a non-governmental organisation, The Sunny Kuku Foundation, in collaboration with Healthways Communications, Adeyemi-Doro, noted that diabetes accounted for a lot of deaths in Nigeria and other parts of the world, adding that it was fast becoming the most dreaded disease.
A statement by the International Diabetes Federation says that between eight and 14 million deaths are caused by diabetes every year in developing countries.
The statement reads, “In 1985, 30 million people were living with diabetes. Now, about 366 million have diabetes. By 2030, 522 million people will have diabetes, that is, if we do not even surpass it.”
The IDF also predicts that developing countries such as Nigeria, where there is an acute shortage of health facilities and medical personnel, would record higher statistics of people living with this disease in the nearest future.
Adeyemi-Doro says that if government could initiate a policy for the control of HIV/AIDS, which affects just 3.5 million Nigerians, and establish an agency to implement the plan to fight the disease, then it should recognise the need to do the same for diabetes, which is also responsible for the increase in the number of Nigerians going blind and suffering from stroke and kidney diseases.
The kidney specialist describes diabetes as a long term disorder that occurs when there is increased level of glucose (sugar) in the blood due to failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, the hormone that helps circulate glucose from the blood stream to other parts of the body.
“There are three types of diabetes, Type 1(from birth), Type 2 diabetes and Gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the commonest type in Nigeria. More than six million Nigerians have diabetes. The situation demands that government should approach its control the way it is addressing HIV/AIDS and malaria,” he says.
Physicians identify low awareness, lack of physical exercise and increased consumption of foods high in fats and sugars as reasons why Nigeria has a high population of people suffering from diabetes than those living with HIV/AIDS.
The Medical Director of Subol Hospitals, Idimu, Lagos, Dr. Olayiwola Bello, who spoke when Novo Nordisk and Roche Diabetes Care inaugurated a diabetes support centre in Lagos State, expressed worries over unhealthy eating habits among Nigerians.
Bello says, “Nigerians are now eating differently. We don’t exercise anymore or even eat home cooked meals. It is either we eat fried or over processed foods that have too much calories and make us gain excess weight. This is why Nigeria is included in the pandemic of Type 2 diabetes.”
He explains further that the centre was established to reach Nigerians suffering from the condition, as well as to educate the public on the symptoms of the disease.
“Frequent tiredness and weakness could be early signs of high blood sugar and diabetes. If you are losing weight without any physical exercise or stress related to work, you may be at a pre-diabetic stage
“If you urinate too frequently at night and during the day, you must do a blood sugar test. These are clear signs of the condition,” he says.
To prevent the disease from spreading further, Bello recommends that Nigerians should exercise regularly, eat lesser portions of meals to avoid being obese, and do away with high calorie foods made from flour, fats and sugars.
However, he advises those who have been diagnosed with the condition to stick with their medication and stay away from foods that could increase their blood sugar level.
Bello states, “Diabetes is a self-managed disease. You are the one that will stop eating foods that contain glucose, monitor your blood glucose and inject yourself with insulin if you need it.
“But patients disappear when they are told they have diabetes and would need insulin injections. Many who should be taking insulin in Nigeria are not doing so because they don’t want injections. Bear in mind that you can live for more than 20 years if you stick to your treatment.”
On his part, Global Project Manager of Novo Nordisk, Denmark, Jacob Beckett, says that apart from providing insulin for those who need it at a subsidised cost, the company would be educating health professionals on how they can help patients embrace diabetes treatments.
Beckett states, “The population of Nigerians living with diabetes is more than the population of my state. Nigeria’s population is a reason why its government must be prepared for this pandemic that is coming.
“Doctors and nurses must be able to educate patients on how injections they take will help them live longer and better.”
Also, the Sunny Kuku Foundation says it will be establishing diabetes clinics in all the six geo-political zones in to increase patient’s access to quality diabetes care.
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