The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that about 537 million people globally are currently living with diabetes, with these statistics seemingly being on an upward trajectory. Diabetes management has not been easy especially for residents of low and mid-income countries. This has been largely attributed to lack of knowledge about the disease and poor access to the disease management fundamentals, with millions of people still living undiagnosed.
On 14th November, 2022 Global Peace Women (GPW) joined The Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) and Nigeria Health Watch with support from the National Action on Sugar Reduction to commemorate the World Diabetes Day 2022 in Abuja, Nigeria. The theme of this year’s event revolved around ‘access to diabetes education’ according to the World Health Organization and was titled “Diabetes Education to Protect Tomorrow”. The event brought together key stakeholders who sought to enlighten masses on how to self-mange the condition as well as scale up accessibility to the life-saving medication and care.
In addition, the day’s activities included a community outreach to demystify myths that persist regarding the disease, free public screening and raising awareness on the needs of diabetes patients. Diabetes Help and Enlightenment Organization (DHEO) who were present during the event sensitized the participants on both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and the predisposing factors to the disease. They also briefed all present on how to lower one’s risks and gave tips on how to live healthy.
Among the preventable risk factors cited were obesity, inactivity, smoking and high consumption of cholesterol-rich and starchy foods. The participants were called up on to aspire to reach and maintain a reasonable bodyweight to allow the body to make and use insulin correctly, thus lowering their risks of developing diabetes. They were also encouraged to become physically active through engaging in regular exercises.
“Regular exercise reduces diabetes risks by helping you lose weight, improving how the body uses insulin and also controlling cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels,” DHEO.
Other organizations that collaborated in this event included, Roche and The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) among other stakeholders. Meanwhile, on the same day, IDF launched an online platform that will host interactive courses meant to help both diabetes patients and their caregivers on how to understand and better manage the disease. The courses are available for free via Understanding Diabetes Platform.