1 in 10 Ghanaians Have Diabetes: NDAG President

According to Elizabeth Esi Denyoh, president of the National Diabetes Association of Ghana (NDAG), around 10% of the population of Ghana has diabetes.

She claimed that the disease’s incidence was still on the rise in the nation and that it was crucial for residents to take the practice of routinely testing their blood sugar levels seriously in order to receive treatment and management as soon as possible.

Prior to this year’s World Diabetes Day, Mrs. Denyoh spoke during a diabetes screening event held by the Association at the Tema Station in Accra yesterday (WDD).

The exercise is the first part of NDAG’s aim to screen at least 30,000 people for diabetes in all of the major markets across the nation.

Interestingly enough, the World Diabetes Day (WDD) is observed annually on November 14 to coincide with Sir Frederick Banting’s birthday.

The majority of Ghanaians, particularly the young, have diabetes but are unaware of it, contributing to the high disease burden and death rate in the nation, said the president of NDAG, who also serves as the chairwoman of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), West Africa.

“Between 2020 and now, diabetes has killed more people than COVID-19 but there is a fund for COVID-19, there are policies and guidelines for treatment and management yet diabetes, which is the third leading chronic non-communicable disease in the country hasn’t got.

Diabetes care needs attention because it has been neglected over the years and the government must intervene to reduce the disease prevalence,”  Elizabeth Esi Denyo highlighted.

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In her remarks, Mrs. Denyoh emphasized the necessity for the government to put in place measures that encourage people to maintain an active lifestyle, such as “creating bicycle lanes, clearing pedestrian walkways and ordering institutions like the Ghana Education Service among others to enforce physical education periods.”

Conclusion

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