From Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini, has raised concern over poor awareness on the scourge of diabetes which has killed and maimed millions of people worldwide.
The Speaker who made the assertion in a press statement issued in Jalingo to mark this year’s World Diabetes Day with the theme, “Access to Diabetes Care: If Not Now, When” regretted that 100 years after the discovery of insulin hormone by Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best to manage the disease, the world has continued to witness increasing and alarming cases of the silent killer disease.
The Speaker lauded WHO for creating an opportunity to raise awareness on the disease as a serious public health issue and to share what needed to be done, collectively and individually, to improve its prevention, diagnosis and management.
“Note that medical experts have estimated that the cases of diabetes will continue to rise, and considering the fact that the people living with it risk early death or deformation, there is dire need to raise awareness about it and the tips on maintaining blood sugar levels.
“I call on both federal and states policy-makers that the awareness on the scourge of diabetes should occupy the front-burner of national discourse, and governments should ensure that the people living with the disease have access to the care they need to live a normal life” Kunini said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) in 1991 set aside 14th November as the World Diabetes Day in order to raise awareness on the ravaging disease, including the drugs and monitoring devices that could help its management.
WHO also disclosed that despite the scientific achievement that changed the lives of the people living with diabetes, more than 19 million people in African Region are living with the disease, and that the number is expected to increase to 47 million by 2025, just as it stressed that about two-thirds of the people living with diabetes in African countries are even unaware of their health condition or status.
In addition, medical experts have stated that an estimated 463 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, with Type-2, that needed to be treated with insulin hormone.
Consequently, diabetes has led to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, lower limb amputation, visual impairment, blindness and nerve damage, including erectile dysfunction in men, as well as high risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms, according to experts.