Health
Group Urges FG To Subsidise Diabetes Care
A non-governmental organisation, Diabetes Control Media Advocacy Initiative DICOMAI, has called on the Federal Government to subsidise the cost of drugs and make treatment accessible for people living with diabetes.
DICOMAI made the call on the 2023 World Diabetes Day yesterday while bemoaning the increasing costs of insulin, glucometer and test stripes in pharmacies.
The group also raised the alarm over what it described as the looming epidemic of diabetes complications in the country, lamenting that many persons with diabetes were no longer able to effectively manage their condition, as a result of the high rate of inflation in the country.
World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14 every year.
The global observance is to raise awareness about the impact of diabetes on the health of people and to highlight the opportunities to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. The theme for World Diabetes Day 2021-23 is access to diabetes care.
In a statement, the Executive Director, of DICOMAI, Sam Eferaro and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Afoke Isiavwe, decried the current economic realities warning that many people living with diabetes are increasingly unable to access essential diabetes medications and monitoring devices to control their blood sugar.
They said investigations into hospitals and diabetes centres throughout the nation showed that the majority of people with diabetes still pay for their drugs out of pocket because most of them lack health insurance.
The statement said, “We are worried that a large number of them cannot identify with this year’s theme: “Access to diabetes care” as it has become very difficult for these Nigerians to obtain essential diabetes medications and blood glucose monitoring devices for treatment and management.
“We are shocked to discover that people especially in the rural communities in virtually all the geographical zones have to travel far distances to towns and cities to obtain their medications with prices now beyond their reach.
“This is because diabetes medications and blood glucose monitoring devices are becoming difficult to access because of a spike in costs as the majority are imported into the country.”
Expressing worry that since vials of insulin are currently selling for between N6,000 and N15,000, some individuals who have daily injections-children in particular-are being compelled to cut back on their dosages.
In some cases, they noted, glycemic management requires more than one vial each month, even as price increases from 15 – 40 percent were noted in several states.
According to them, some families are faced with making difficult and painful choices to either buy insulin for their children or buy food, pay for school fees or house rent,
They noted, “From our observation, we believe that the current situation of the diabetes scourge demands realistic policies such as HIV and AIDS-free treatment care for all patients.
“We therefore urge both the Federal and all State Governments, including Abuja, to seize the opportunity of the 2023 World Diabetes Day to urgently step up efforts to provide access to people living with diabetes in these hard times. Not acting now could spell doom for the country given the nature of the disease.
“The Federal Government should also adopt pragmatic measures to immediately assist Nigerians living with diabetes and prevent unnecessary deaths and a wide range of complications associated with poorly managed diabetes.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.