Amidst inflation in the country, the National Association of Persons Living with Diabetes has appealed to the federal government to subsidize the cost of essential medication and foodstuff.
The group’s National Coordinator, Bernard Enyia, made the appeal in an interview in Calabar on Tuesday, saying that the economy is biting hard on diabetic patients, due to the rising cost of essential medications and foodstuffs.
He regretted that the present economic challenges worsened their plight and resulted in preventable deaths among the patients.
Mr Enyia, who doubles as the Vice President II of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria and Co-Chairman of the National Action on Sugar Reduction Coalition, further disclosed that many diabetic patients were resorting to traditional medicine.
He described the herbal option as risking severe health consequences due to the unaffordability of conventional treatments.
“The cost of foodstuffs and essential commodities, including life-saving drugs, has skyrocketed.
“This has made it extremely difficult for diabetic patients to afford their daily medications,” Mr Enyia said.
He highlighted the limitations of President Bola Tinubu’s recent Executive Order aimed at easing the importation of food and pharmaceutical materials for local production.
He said that the measure did not significantly alleviate their plight.
“Diabetes medications are not produced in Nigeria, and the machines used for blood sugar testing are also imported.
“As a result, prices have reached an all-time high,” Mr Enyia said.
He cited an instance with insulin injection which, he said, cost N4,000 in 2022 but now goes for between N19,000 and N24,000.
He said the injection lasts for only one week, creating an Association financial burden on the patients.
He further said that the price of syringes used for administering insulin has soared from N50 to N600, with patients requiring two syringes daily.
“This translates to a monthly expense of N36,000 just for syringes, not including the cost of insulin and other necessary medications.
“My monthly expenditure on diabetic care exceeds N100,000, with patients experiencing complications facing even higher costs,” Mr Enyia said.
He said the group’s alarm was intended to raise awareness about the financial hardships faced by patients.
Diabetes mellitus, often known simply as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin, or the cells of the body becoming unresponsive to the hormone's effects.
Classic symptoms include thirst, polyuria, weight loss, and blurred vision. If left untreated, the disease can lead to various health complications, including disorders of the cardiovascular system, eye, kidney, and nerves. Diabetes accounts for approximately 4.2 million deaths every year, with an estimated 1.5 million caused by either untreated or poorly treated diabetes.
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