Health
WORLD Diabetes Day is held on November 14 every year and it’s a global awareness campaign focusing on diabetes mellitus.
Type-2 diabetes is a largely preventable and treatable non-communicable disease that is rapidly increasing in numbers worldwide. Type 1 diabetes is not preventable but can be managed with insulin injections.
The theme for this year is “education to protect tomorrow”
In Africa, more than 19 million people are living with diabetes and this number is expected to grow to 47 million by 2025.
Unfortunately, millions of people living with diabetes in African countries are unaware of their condition.
The known risk factors for diabetes include family history, age, being overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, or use of alcohol or tobacco.
Without effective clinical management and lifestyle changes, diabetes can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, lower limb amputation, visual impairment, blindness and nerve damage, including erectile dysfunction.
In many parts of Africa when patients are diagnosed with Diabetes, insulin stockouts in public health facilities and the costs of oral hypoglycemic drugs result in individuals not getting the treatment they need because most of the time they cannot afford it.
The Managing Director of SignalADoc, Osagie Omokaro commemorates World Diabetes Day with the international community and local health authorities. He admonished all stakeholders to raise awareness of the growing burden of this disease and also seeks to come up with strategies and ways to prevent and treat it.
-Vanguard
KN
Tags: Osagie Omokaro SignalADoc World Diabetes Day
