15112022

22 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022
‘
DIABETES: Prioritise investment in management,
prevention, WHO tasks African govts
• Says 24m adults affected, 416,000 die in 2021; Nigerian diabetics lament high cost of drugs
Chioma Obinna
AS Nigeria today joins
the rest of the world
to mark this year’s World
Diabetes Day, the World
Health Organisation,
WHO, has appealed to
governments of member
states to prioritise investment
in essential products
in the management
of the disease such as
insulin, glucometers and
test strips to ensure equitable
accessibility for every
diabetics, no matter
where on the continent
they are.
The WHO also disclosed
that 24 million
Africans are living with
the diabetes while a total
of 416 million people lost
their lives to the disease
in 2021.
WHO Regional Director
for Africa, Dr
Matshidiso Moeti who
made the appeal in a
statement to mark this
year’s Day with the
theme: “Access to diabetes
care”, also urged African
governments to
adopt and customise the
global targets for diabetes,
as part of recommendations
to strengthen and
monitor diabetes responses
within their national
NCD programmes.
Balanced
diets
“To Africa’s people, I
cannot overemphasise
the importance of healthy
and balanced diets, combined
with regular exercise,
not smoking, maintaining
a healthy weight,
and limiting alcohol consumption.
This will go a
long way to protecting
individuals from Type 2
diabetes and other NCDs.
“Africa’s diabetes statistics
illustrate the depth of
the challenge; 24 million
adults are currently living
with diabetes, with
that number predicted to
swell by 129 percent to 55
million by 2045.
“Last year, diabetes mellitus
took the lives of 416
000 people on the continent,
and is forecast to
become one of the leading
causes of death in
Africa by 2030.
“Importantly, diabetes
is the only major Non
Communicable Disease,
NCD, for which the risk
of dying early is increasing,
rather than decreasing.
“Known risk factors include
family history and
increasing age, along
with modifiable risk factors
such as overweight
and obesity, sedentary
lifestyles, unhealthy diets,
smoking and alcohol
abuse. Unfortunately,
these modifiable risk factors
are on the rise across
all countries in the WHO
African Region,” she lamented.
Stating that WHO African
Region was committed
to the requisite training
of health workers in
the prevention and management
of NCDs at district
and community level,
to improve availability of
these services, she stated
that response efforts are
constrained by the fact that
more than one in every
two people in Africa living
with Diabetes mellitus
has never been diagnosed.
“Increased access to diagnostic
tools and medicines,
particularly insulin,
is one of the most urgent
areas of work. Left unchecked,
and without
management and
lifestyle changes, diabetes
can lead to several debilitating
complications.
These include heart attack,
stroke, kidney failure,
lower limb amputation,
visual impairment,
blindness, and nerve
damage. People with diabetes
are also at higher
risk for severe COVID-
19 symptoms.”
She said to accelerate
progress on diabetes and
other NCDs, WHO developed
the Global Dia-
L- R: Pharmacist Adedayo Aremu, Product Manager, Diabetes Care, Mega
Lifesciences; Dr. Oyenusi; Dr Akinlade, Pharmacist Laitan Esigbe, Training
Manager, West Africa, Mega Lifesciences and Raghunvanshy during a diabetes
education, prevention and awareness campaign organised by Mega Lifesciencesto
mark this year's World Diabetes Day
AstraZeneca partners harp on equitable cancer care in Africa
By Chioma Obinna
TO boost cancer survival
rates across Africa,
AstraZeneca and partners
launched an initiative to
transform outcomes for cancer
patients across Africa.
The initiative tagged: “Accelerating
Change Together
for Cancer Care in
Africa” is designed to
tackle the growing burden
of cancer across the continent
and improve patient
outcomes.
Announced on the sideline
of the UN Climate
Change Conference 2022,
COP27, under the patronage
of the Egyptian Ministry
of Health, the Accelerating
Change Together;
Cancer Care in Africa
(ACT; CCA) programme
provides a platform for partners
to co-create cancer
care solutions that close the
gaps in the existing patient
care pathway, from diagnosis
through to treatment
and beyond.
At the inaugural event,
Increased
access to diagnostic
tools
and medicines,
particularly
insulin, is one
of the most
urgent areas
of work
• Launch initiative to boost treatment outcomes for patients
government representatives,
leading clinical and
health experts, patient advocates,
and private sector
representatives signed the
ACT; CCA Coalition Declaration
to reaffirm their joint
commitment to advancing
equitable cancer outcomes
for all Africans.
Speaking, the Area Vice
President for the Middle
East and Africa,
AstraZeneca, Pelin Incesu,
said: “While cancer treatment
developments are
moving quickly, equitable
access to these innovations
is not there for all. Our ambition
is to nurture the cancer
care ecosystem in Africa,
bringing together local
stakeholders to co-create
solutions and encourage
long-term investment that
leads to equitable cancer
outcomes.
“We need joint action to
reverse the alarming increase
in Africa’s cancer
burden, by addressing the
unique barriers to cancer
diagnosis and treatment, as
well as building capacity
that helps to make innovative
care accessible to patients.”
Over 700,000 deaths occurred
due to cancer across
the region in 2020; across
Sub-Saharan Africa, the current
mortality rates are
reaching 70 per cent in diagnosed
cases. An estimated
2.1 million new cancer
cases and 1.4 million
deaths are expected annually
by 2040 across the continent.1
Cancer of the breast
and prostate are among the
top three most prevalent.
ACT; CCA focuses on
driving impact in lung,
breast and prostate cancer
through capacity building,
early screening and diagnosis
and patient empowerment.
It is the regional
chapter of the global Accelerating
Change Together
(ACT) for Cancer Care, an
AstraZeneca-led effort to
revolutionize the way cancer
is diagnosed and treated
betes Compact to reduce
the negative impacts of the
disease, and ensure that
everyone living with diabetes
has access to equitable,
comprehensive, affordable,
and quality
treatment and care.
During the 75th World
Health Assembly in May,
WHO Member States supported
the creation of the
first global targets for diabetes
by 2030, as part of
recommendations to
strengthen and monitor
diabetes responses within
national NCD
programmes.
“These include that 80
percent of people living
with diabetes will be diagnosed,
and have good
control of their glycaemic
levels and blood pressure;
60 per cent of those older
than 40 will be receiving
treatment with statins; and
100 per cent of people
with Type 1 diabetes will
have access to affordable
insulin and blood glucose
self-monitoring.”
Nigerian diabetics
lament high cost of
drugs
Meanwhile, persons living
with Diabetes in Nigeria
have decried the
high cost of diabetes treatment,
saying that, they
spend between N25, 000
and N30,000 for drugs
monthly in Nigeria depending
where the drugs
were purchased.
Mr Sam Eferaro who
to drive improvements in
patient outcomes.
Over the next three years,
ACT; CCA aims to drive
screening and diagnostics
covering one million people
across cancer types and to
provide training for more
than 10,000 healthcare professionals
across 100 oncology
centres.
The programme is led by
a steering committee of doctors,
oncology institutions
and advocacy groups to
guide policy intervention,
share learnings across borders,
and put cancer patients
at the centre. Members
will meet regularly to
drive progress on cancer
initiatives.
A Professor of Clinical
Oncology and Managing
Director of Cairo University
Cancer Centre, President
of Can-Survive-Egypt, Dr
Mohsen Mokhtar said collaboration
was key to improving
cancer outcomes.
“Each country joining the
coalition invests heavily in
spoke to Vanguard said in
2019, the cost of these
drugs were far less than
N10,000.
Eferaro said though although
the reasons for the
increase may not be restricted
to diabetes drugs
alone as cost of drugs have
gone up, generally but
people living with diabetes
feel the increase more
because they have to be
on the drugs for life.
“It is also the same for
people with hypertension
and other non communicable
diseases.”
While calling of the need
to subsidized treatment for
diabetes and hypertension,
he said healthcare
has not fared well under
the present Nigerian government.
“African countries like
Cameroon or even Ghana
have programmes for
people living with diabetes,
especially children.
No such programme in
Nigeria.
“Nigerian government
has no programme or
plans to reduce cost of
diabetes management.
Rather, cost of drugs and
monitoring devices are
rising every year because
of tax and import duties
that pharnaceutical companies
must pay to bring
them in.
“Same for cancer drugs
which is why chemotherapy
is so expensive
and patients have to sell
all they have to pay for
treatment. Truth is government
is making money off
sick people instead of introducing
measures to
prolong their lives.
“From my interaction
with some of the multinational
pharmaceutical
companies, drugs in Nigeria
are sold at special
discounted rates but the
discounts can still be increased.
cancer care programmes.
“We understand that by
working together to develop
a network that
stretches beyond borders,
we can close the gaps
across the patient care pathway
and provide solutions
that improve outcomes and
transform the patient journey
not only for our citizens
but also across the continent.”
On her part, the Head of
the National Cancer Control
Programme in Kenya,
Dr Mary Nyangasi highlighted
the disparity in
care.
“In some areas, the lack
of disease awareness, limited
diagnostic capabilities,
and an absence of structured
programmes for early
detection and access to
treatment mean that equitable
cancer care is not
there for all. ACT; CCA is
about levelling the playing
field and collaborating to
transform patient outcomes.”