Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has expressed readiness to tackle the exponential increase in the number of hypertension and diabetes patients in the state.
Oyebanji lamented that over 70% of mortality being suffered by people between ages 30 and 70 were caused by the duo of hypertension and diabetes, which he said make them the most notorious killers of the Nigerian productive population.
The governor said this while flagging off the federal government’s powered project 10m campaign initiative against hypertension and diabetes tagged: ‘Know your number, control your number,’ in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
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Oyebanji, represented by the Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, said the ‘Project 10m,’ is a national initiative by the forum of health commissioners in the country, to tackle the increasing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes.
He said Ekiti was combining the ‘Project 10 Million Initiative’ with an innovative state intervention to rapidly increase demand for primary health care services in Ekiti State, which is key to achieving universal health coverage for the people.
Oyebanji posited that it was highly depressing and disturbing, that there is an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the country due to various factors including change in our lifestyle, saying 27% of deaths in the country are caused by non-communicable diseases.
The governor said: “There is a 70 percent chance of dying from hypertension and diabetes between the ages of 30 and 70 years in Nigeria. Despite these alarming statistics a lot of people are not aware of their status as far as these health conditions are concerned making them a silent threat to their health and wellbeing.
“We hope to conduct free screening for about 200,000 people in Ekiti State for hypertension and diabetes within the week-long campaign in 161 screening centres across the state from Monday 28 October to Sunday 3 November 2024 with a focus on adults from age 18 years.”