Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – About 15 million Nigerians are living with diabetes, while many others remain undiagnosed and struggle to afford medicines, glucose monitoring and specialist care, the Endocrine and Metabolism Society of Nigeria (EMSON) has said.
EMSON President, Prof. Andrew Uloko, disclosed this on Wednesday at the society’s 47th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference in Abuja.
The conference was held under the theme, “Endocrine Practice in Nigeria: Improving Patient Care and Outcomes Through Advocacy.”
Uloko said many Nigerians with diabetes remained undiagnosed, while diagnosed patients faced barriers to medicines, glucose monitoring, laboratory investigations and specialist care.
He said poverty, food insecurity and infectious diseases were compounding the challenges facing patients and the healthcare system. “Behind every statistic is a human being,” Uloko said. “It is the young adult whose diabetes interferes with education and employment; it is the mother struggling to afford insulin.
“It is the older person living with diabetes and kidney disease, and the patient who presents with a preventable complication.”
He said diabetes often occurred alongside conditions such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia and obesity, further complicating patient care.
Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Prof. Saad Ahmed, said the shortage had increased pressure on available specialists.
Represented by Dr Ben Achusin, Ahmed said the hospital had only two endocrinologists attending to between 40 and 60 patients per clinic.
He said the hospital previously had four endocrinologists, but two had migrated to the United States.
Ahmed also said some hormonal, biochemical and molecular investigations were being sent abroad, delaying diagnosis and treatment. “We need to think out of the box and find novel ways to get a diagnosis quickly,” he said.
About the Author
Korede Abdullah 
