People living with diabetes in Nigeria have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to empathize with them by addressing their issues with urgency.
The affected people placed five demands before the President, saying for a government that is striving to address poverty, the ripple effect of the disease on the means of livelihood of the over 11 million affected people and their defendants can only deepen poverty and should be of concern to the government.
Bernard Enyia, the Secretary of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, while presenting the demands on behalf of the patients during the commemoration of this year’s World Diabetes Day, themed, ‘Know your risk, know your response’ in Abuja on Tuesday said, besides the financial burden, the productivity of the patient and the caregivers are jeopardized with economic implication for all concerned.
The patients are demanding that, “Tax sugary beverages at a rate that increases sugary drink prices by at least 20% of the retail price;
“The cost of insulin has more than doubled. We demand that taxes on insulin be removed and revenue from sugary drink taxes be used to subsidize insulin for diabetes patients;
“There should be more Health promotion and awareness on the dangers of SSB consumption. Marketing of sugary drinks should be restricted to create an environment that encourages healthy choices;
“Improve access to primary health care by placing diabetes desk officers at state health ministries; and
“Institute free diabetes screening and testing services at public health facilities.
Enyia, who has been living with the condition since 2008, said the President’s involvement and executive action toward the realization of the demands becomes most necessary to galvanize other arms of government into action.
He said as a disease that affects every organ of the body, diabetes not only threatens the lives of patients and decreases our productivity, but it also exacts a heavy financial burden on us, our dependants, and places of work, whether in the private or public sector.
He said: “With more than 11 million Nigerians living with diabetes, access to Diabetes care in Nigeria remains a herculean task.
“Diabetes care remains one of the weakest components at all levels of health care delivery in Nigeria. The lack of reliable data on Diabetes morbidity and mortality makes it hard for the government to implement intervention strategies.
“National Health Insurance coverage is still skeletal in many institutions and does not accommodate Diabetes drugs. For this reason, people with Diabetes face regular catastrophic out-of-pocket expenditures.
“It worsens financial hardship for patients and their families and contributes to the loss of economic productivity, directly costing Nigeria $4.5B or nearly N300,000 per patient in annual health care costs”.
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While he urged Nigerians to be mindful of their health, Enyia said a disciplined and healthy lifestyle is all it takes to prevent the incurable while urging the government not to turn a deaf ear to the demands of the patients.
According to him, pro-health tax policies are not only necessary to protect consumers from health-harming products but also demonstrate government responsibility to its citizens and the economy.
He said taxes on sugary drinks can improve the health culture and environment by discouraging sugary drink consumption.
Enyia also noted that the sustenance of Nigeria’s sugary drinks tax with legislation is bound to make a greater health impact through reduced consumption, while investment of Nigeria’s sugary drinks tax revenue in health programs will help people with diabetes.