By Ezra Ukanwa, Abuja
The Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) has reported that more than 11 million Nigerians are currently living with diabetes.
Speaking at an Art Exhibition for a World Diabetes Day, organized by the National Action on Sugar Reduction, NASR, on Monday, in Abuja, the President of DAN, Dr Alkali Mohammed, also said this alarming statistic highlights the urgent need for increased awareness, education, and access to healthcare services for those affected by the disease.
He said: “In a better analysis in Nigeria, we have up to 11.2 million, but we all know it is an under-reflection of what is happening. We have much more but the most important thing is that for us to know that it is there and we need to do something.
“That something may reduce the figure and that’s why I said we all know that over 90 per cent of the diabetes are type two which are subject to modification by lifestyle modification. So, where does the coalition come in? Well, of course, lifestyle modification, increased physical activity and healthy eating. We’re talking about sugar.
“We don’t need to be told, we don’t need to rise up as a group to fight we know that sugars are not healthy eat and we know also that the amount of sugars in the sweetened beverages that we consume, sometimes we wonder what is the target because the amount they put is beyond add for taste. So, I think it is high time we put effort together to discourage consumption of sugar by increasing the tax.”
On her part, the Secretary of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Comrade Bernard Enyia, called on the government to increase taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, staff state health ministries with diabetes desk officers and remove tariffs on diabetes treatment goods.
“This set of patient demands also emphasized that diabetes screening be free in public facilities and tax revenue be channeled towards subsidizing diabetes care”, he added.
Also speaking, the President, Nigeria Cancer Society, Dr. Adamu Alhasan Usman, said: “Nigeria, being the most populous country on the African continent, has the highest burden of diabetes mellitus.
“That is not actually unexpected when you look at our population size: 11.2 million Nigerians are living with diabetes mellitus. But just like cancer, the analogy I always give especially for some of us that come from the village for cancers, I tell people but for every one cancer patient that is in the database, you have hundreds out there that are undiagnosed and hence not part of the statistics.
“So 11.2 million Nigerians may be an underestimation, and so many patients die as a result of complications of diabetes mellitus. And this is why the national action for sugar reduction we are advocating for not just an increase in the sugary packs, but proper implementation and allocation of the accrued tax to further improve healthcare services, in order to improve access to medicines for diabetes patients, and to better the primary health care structures at the local localities for effective screening modalities.”
