Address Diabetes now, Africa urged

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Public Health minister Beth Mugo (right) during the launch of the National Diabetes Strategy at Norfolk Hotel September 10 2010. Delegates attending a conference aimed at finding lasting solutions on the prevalence of Diabetes within the continent have said it needs addressing urgently. FILE
By JOY WANJA in Johannesburg, South Africa
Posted Wednesday, September 29 2010 at 09:37

In Summary

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In every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes and related conditions globally.
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Diabetes and related complications kill as many as 3.5 million people annually in the world.
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About 90 per cent of people with diabetes have Type2, which usually occurs in adults over 45 years.
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The complications of diabetes include cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, nerve damages and lower extremity amputations.

Delegates attending an African conference aimed at finding lasting solutions on the prevalence of Diabetes within the continent have said it needs addressing urgently.

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As health professionals from Africa convene in South Africa for the Diabetes Leadership Forum Africa 2010, one of the activities is to push the Diabetes agenda forward for all African countries.

The IDF is an umbrella organisation of over 200 national diabetes associations in over 160 countries. It represents the interests of the growing number of people with diabetes and those at risk.

Kenya's Public Health assistant minister James Gesami is expected to attend the two-day conference that will also host other African ministers of Health, healthcare professionals and academia.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.

And with only five years left to achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, the IDF called for the rising incidence of diabetes on the continent to be addressed.

The IDF forum will feature key-note speeches and panel discussions around health systems and challenges in Africa and is also expected to develop coherent policies for control and prevention of non communicable diseases like Diabetes.

It is feared that non communicable diseases may easily overwhelm the current health system if they are not tackled early enough and the public is not well informed on how to keep the disease at bay.

Not only is the prevalence of Diabetes increasing at an alarming rate it has been cited to affect indigenous poor people, living in slums or informal settlements disproportionately.

The conference will also look at addressing national programmes on primary prevention of Diabetes and delve into the care and control of the disease with a focus on children.

A fortnight ago Public Health minister Beth Mugo launched a strategy to reduce the cost of managing the disease.

Mrs Mugo appealed to healthcare providers to reduce the cost of treating diabetes in country and also asked Treasury to zero rate taxes and duties on all medical and laboratory consumables for diabetes.

This is expected to translate into lower prices for patients.

“I am aware that the testing and treatment of diabetes is still out of reach for many Kenyans either due to their geographical location or economic circumstances,” the minister had said.

Excess caloric intake contained in most fast foods results in the body’s inability to process the excess fats, leading to an increase in weight.

Walking and cycling, has been proven to delay the onset of lifestyle diseases like Diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases that are as a result of eating unhealthy high calorie foods and exposure to other environmental factors.

However, given the emerging problem, Kenya is faced by the lack of conclusive data on the prevalence of the disease.