Renewed attention is being advocated for Diabetes which in April was selected by the World Health Organization as the priority area of global public health concern for this year’s World Health Day.
Five months after, CFAO Nigeria is renewing focus on the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) directly impacting millions of people globally, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. The company organized a health walk around the Victoria Island environs to sensitise the public on the dangers of diabetes, while also providing free medical tests for interested individuals.
“We need to keep our health before we can strive to do business. We have to be healthy before we can face the day to day challenges so we are just taking this (awareness and free medical tests initiative) as part of social responsibility to members of the public,” remarked Kunle Jaiyesimi, deputy managing director, CFAO Automotive and Equipment services.
Wole Ayanleke, Group HR manager, CFAO Nigeria also explained the rationale behind the health walk, saying “The first reason is that a lot of concentration has been on HIV, malaria and the likes, with less concentration on diabetes so we felt that it is time for us to create that awareness for Nigerians, and those in Lagos specifically,”
According to Ayanleke, the company anticipates attitudinal changes from people as life experiences were shared before the health walk, and believes that the presence created around the Victoria Island vicinity will create awareness and people will start wondering why diabetes, thereby researching more on it and by so doing, there will be better understanding of the ailment.
“Diabetes and its complications bring about substantial economic loss to people with diabetes, their families, health systems and national economies through direct medical costs and loss of work and wages. While the major cost drivers are hospital and outpatient care, a contributing factor is the rise in cost for analogue insulins 1 which are increasingly prescribed despite little evidence that they provide significant advantages over cheaper human insulins,” says the World Health Organisation in its Global Report on Diabetes.
Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO also noted that “Diabetes is on the rise. No longer a disease of predominantly rich nations, the prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing everywhere, most markedly in the world’s middle-income countries. Unfortunately, in many settings the lack of effective policies to create supportive environments for healthy lifestyles and the lack of access to quality health care means that the prevention and treatment of diabetes, particularly for people of modest means, are not being pursued. When diabetes is uncontrolled, it has dire consequences for health and well-being.”
“Occurrence of diabetes is rapidly on the rise partly due to increased awareness of the need for medical screening but even more due to the inaction of some people on lifestyle and diet,” says Oretayo Oni, a Medical Doctor in Lagos.
Oni further explains that “prevention is the hallmark of management; moderation in youth beats attempts to treat the ailment at old age, and proper management is based on compliance with clinic visits and medication. Dietary modification also plays a major role in treatment as the former misconception that certain foods should not be eaten has been done away with, moderation (in very little quantities) is what matters.”
Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. The most common is type 2 diabetes, usually in adults, which occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough insulin. In the past three decades the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels. Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself. For people living with diabetes, access to affordable treatment, including insulin, is critical to their survival. There is a globally agreed target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025.
The World Health Organisation asserts that Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented with current knowledge. Effective approaches are available to prevent type 2 diabetes and to prevent the complications and premature death that can result from all types of diabetes. These include policies and practices across whole populations and within specific settings (school, home, workplace) that contribute to good health for everyone, regardless of whether they have diabetes, such as exercising regularly, eating healthily, avoiding smoking, and controlling blood pressure and lipids.
Taking a life-course perspective is essential for preventing type 2 diabetes, as it is for many health conditions. Early in life, when eating and physical activity habits are formed and when the long-term regulation of energy balance may be programmed, there is a critical window for intervention to mitigate the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life. No single policy or intervention can ensure this happens.
It calls for a whole-of-government and whole-ofsociety approach, in which all sectors systematically consider the health impact of policies in trade, agriculture, finance, transport, education and urban planning – recognizing that health is enhanced or obstructed as a result of policies in these and other areas.
For those who are diagnosed with diabetes, a series of cost-effective interventions can improve their outcomes, regardless of what type of diabetes they may have. These interventions include blood glucose control, through a combination of diet, physical activity and, if necessary, medication; control of blood pressure and lipids to reduce cardiovascular risk and other complications; and regular screening for damage to the eyes, kidneys and feet, to facilitate early treatment. Diabetes management can be strengthened through the use of standards and protocols.
CALEB OJEWALE
