NAIROBI, Kenya, 16 November 2016 – Diabetes has been singled out as the second leading cause of amputations and loss of limbs globally, coming after accidents and injuries.
This emerged during the Pan African World Diabetes Day Forum in Nairobi on Wednesday, with revelations that diabetes is also the leading cause of blindness in adults.
Dr. Izaq Odongo, Head of Curative and Rehabilitative Services noted that to address the diabetes disease burden in the country, the Ministry of Health is increasing access to care for persons living with diabetes in collaboration with partners.
Dr. Odongo who represented the Health Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Cleopa Mailu, revealed that the government has set up more than 20 diabetes comprehensive care clinics in County referral hospitals.
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The Diabetes Management Centres have been set up in Nakuru, Machakos, Kakamega and Mombasa Counties in partnership with the County governments and partners like Novo Nordisk. The Ministry is set to inaugurate the refurbished Nakuru Center on 17th November.
“This year’s World Diabetes Day theme Eyes On Diabetes is very apt as many people are unaware of the disease complications. If you walk into a clinic and talk to patients today you’ll find that many are not aware of diabetes complications,” he stressed.
The President of the International Diabetes Federation, Dr. Shaukat Sadikot, said there is need for countries to put in more resources in preventing diabetes and continuous education in particular promotive and preventive care ,to lower the disease burden.
“Diabetes is not a silent epidemic; what we are facing is a tsunami of diabetes. A few years ago the major cause of blindness was Vitamin A deficiency in children. We are now talking about diabetes in adults. We have to look back and rethink our strategies in order to help our people,” said Dr. Sadikot.
The Corporate Vice President Business Area Novo Nordisk, Dr. Jean-Paul Digy also expressed concern at the level of awareness. He noted that only six out of 10 people living with diabetes are aware of their condition. ‘’This is devastating as it increases the risk of premature death.”
The forum which brought together health professionals from various countries was attended by Danish Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Mette Knudsen; Country World Health Organization Non Communicable Disease Manager, Dr. Joyce Nato; Tom Achoki- Clinical Assistant Professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) , University of Washington and Seme Member of Parliament Dr. James Nyikal.
Dr. Nyikal urged health policy makers to lobby legislatures to enact laws that would aid the war against diabetes. He explained that lobbying the political class would complement efforts by health professionals and further support steps in preventing diabetes. “It is very expensive to treat and manage diabetes. What works best is preventive. We must therefore go in promotion and then prioritise universal health care,” he said.
During the event a new report from the IHME was launched, in the event which was hosted by Novo Nordisk- a Danish pharmaceutical company, the Ministry of Health and the Royal Danish Embassy.
The report highlights the alarming prevalence of diabetes in Africa indicating that 30 percent of all deaths from diabetes in the world occur in countries that score lowest on an index of development.
The report also states that in several countries and regions of Africa, including Southern sub-Saharan Africa and Morocco, diabetes is the leading cause of Non-Communicable Disease-related disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). A metric that represents the sum of years of life lost and years lived with disability.
IHME also states that diabetes rates in 2015 in Western sub-Saharan Africa were 15.1 percent higher for women than men and 33.3 percent higher for women in Southern sub-Saharan Africa.