No fewer than 11 million persons are currently living with diabetes in Nigeria, with many more remaining undiagnosed.
A medical expert at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano State, Zubairu Iliyasu, disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the 14th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association of Clinical Endocrinologists of Nigeria, today in Kano, reports The PUNCH.
The conference, themed “Endocrinology and Public Health”, brought together medical experts from across Nigeria to discuss the increasing prevalence of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases in Nigeria and Africa.
Iliyasu emphasised the urgent need for widespread public sensitisation on adopting healthier lifestyles to combat the growing threats of diabetes and obesity.
Also, the Chairman of the occasion, Musa Borodo, lamented the high cost of healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
Borodo stressed the importance of strategies aimed at reducing the burden of illnesses such as diabetes and obesity.
According to him, the conference will help fine-tune efforts toward public enlightenment and disease prevention.
In his address, the President of ACEN, Williams Balogun, called on the government and stakeholders to invest more resources in combating non-communicable diseases.
He reaffirmed the association’s commitment to developing effective strategies to tackle the growing health challenges in the country.
“This meeting will unveil a variety of ideas and research aimed at ensuring that the challenges of diabetes and obesity are thoroughly addressed,” Balogun said.
In his remark, the Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran, described the conference as timely.
He pledged the state government’s willingness to partner with medical associations like ACEN in the fight against diabetes, obesity, and other public health challenges.
He urged participants to develop actionable resolutions to curb the alarming rise in diabetes and obesity nationwide.
