The disease is spreading more and more among young Nigerians, and the West African country is seeing more and more cases. This goes against the long-held idea that diabetes mostly affects older people.
More and more young Nigerians are getting diabetes, and it’s thought that more than 11 million people have it.
Health experts in Nigeria say that diabetes is on the rise because of increased urbanization, sedentary lifestyles, fried foods, and sugary diets. The number of Type 1 cases is rising quite quickly, and many young Nigerians are still not diagnosed because they don’t know enough about it and there aren’t enough screenings.
Mary Nkem Babalola, a public health worker with the Funmilayo Florence Babalola Foundation (FFB), which fights diabetes in poor Nigerian communities, said, “We are seeing diabetes in younger people now.”
“We need early screening, education for the public, and inexpensive test kits and insulin.”
Watrahyel Mshelia, 21, from Abuja told DW that she never comprehended the hazards in the long run.
“So, when I was 16 and got the diagnosis, I didn’t really get what was going on,” she added.
“The nurses and physicians told me, but they didn’t tell me everything. They basically instructed me to take my medicine and I shouldn’t get hurt.
Watrahyel Mshelia is still hurt, and having diabetes makes it worse.
Watrahyel stopped taking her medicine when she went to college because she felt fine. That changed when there was an automobile accident four years later.
“I broke my leg, and it hasn’t healed in a year because I have diabetes.” “I knew it was a very bad condition,” she said.
“Epidemic levels” Nigeria’s health officials say the rise is quickly becoming one of the country’s most serious public health problems.
The Nigeria Diabetes Association says that Nigeria today has 11.4 million people with diabetes, which is one of the highest numbers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
That number of diagnosed cases is more than the total population of Namibia, Botswana, and Lesotho, yet it is still only a small part of Nigeria’s 220 million people.
The group wants the government to call a state of emergency for diabetes care.
Ejiofor Ugwu of the Nigeria Diabetes Association told DW, “It’s now more than a crisis, it’s an epidemic, it is catastrophic.”
He claimed, “11.4 million people are only those who have been diagnosed, which is less than half of the people with diabetes in Nigeria.” He also said, “Diabetes is killing about 30,000 to 40,000 Nigerians every year.” That is not a joke.
Other international organizations have also sounded the alarm. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that by 2030, diabetes would be the sixth greatest cause of mortality. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) says that more than 24 million Africans presently have the disease.
While infectious diseases are at the top of Africa’s health agenda, diabetes has been ignored. But experts say that homes, health systems, and economies would be deeply affected.
What would an emergency declaration do?
The diabetes group says that if the government declared an emergency, it would have to come up with a national response plan and make targeted policies.
Ugwu added, “We are asking the federal government to help pay for important diabetes medications.”
He says, “A tax break on diabetes drugs brought in from other countries would lower the cost of landing them and make them more affordable.”
Currently, Nigeria’s National Health Insurance doesn’t cover most diabetic medications or basic items like glucose meters and test strips. This means that many people can’t control their disease.
Awareness and cost
Cost is still one of the largest problems in getting a diagnosis and treatment.
“People ignore diabetes until it becomes a crisis because they can’t get screenings or drugs that are affordable,” explains DW’s Nigeria correspondent, Olisa Chukwuma.
The price of a pack of glucose-testing strips is between 15,000 and 17,000 naira (about €10). It used to cost 100 naira (€0.60) for one test, but now it costs 1,000 naira.
The IDF says that persons over 40 and families with a history of diabetes or obesity should get their blood sugar levels checked every year. But for many Nigerians, this is still out of reach.
Why are there more cases?
Experts say the spike is due to growing urbanization and changes in lifestyle, such as eating a lot of processed foods and not being as active.
“We have adopted diets from the West. A lot of the food we eat isn’t good for us. “Not being active is a big risk factor,” Ugwu said.
If not treated, diabetes can hurt the heart, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that diabetes affects people of all ages, from children to the elderly.
( Story by Privilege Musvanhiri. Photo by Kunle Babs, a DW publication)
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