11 Health facilities get support on World Diabetes Day
An organisation with interest in the fight against diabetes, Splenda Ghana, has made donations to 11 diabetic health facilities in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions as part of its commemoration of World Diabetes Day, which fell on November 14.
Advertisement
The items included glucometers, as well as Splenda Zero Calories and Splenda Stevia Sweeteners, for distribution to the diabetic patients of the beneficiary facilities.
The initiative aligns with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of promoting healthy living, particularly for diabetic patients.
Beneficiaries
The facilities in Greater Accra included the Mamprobi Hospital, Lapaz Community Hospital, Kaneshie Polyclinic, Achimota Hospital, Maamobi General Hospital, Madina Polyclinic, Tema Community 22 Clinic, La Polyclinic and Ashaiman Polyclinic.
In the Eastern Region, the Eastern Regional Hospital and Matthew 25 Clinic were the beneficiaries.
Since 1991, World Diabetes Day has been commemorated.
Though the day has been marked by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health
Organisation (WHO) since 1991 to highlight the threat posed by diabetes, it became an official United Nations (UN) Day in 2006.
It is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries.
Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterised by high levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
The WHO has said about 24 million adults are living with diabetes in Africa, and the number is expected to rise by 129 per cent to 55 million by 2045.
The theme for 2023 World Diabetes Day was: ‘Know Your Risk.’
Apart from the donations, Splenda Ghana also teamed up with other interest groups to organise activities to draw attention to the disease and its debilitating effects.
Together with the Elwak Keep Fit Club, a health walk and free health screening exercise were organised for the public.
Also, the company partnered with the Mamprobi Hospital to organise a health talk on healthy living for patients and other clients.
Knowing the risk
The Managing Director (MD) of Brighter Purpose Group Limited and the Team Lead for Splenda Ghana, Maabena Webb, who led the team, said Splenda Ghana considered its role in the fight against diabetes as crucial.
She stated that a study by the WHO had indicated that the African region had the highest numbers in statistics with regard to undiagnosed cases of diabetes and was thus keen to help raise more awareness to help curb the disease.
“Knowing this, we at Splenda Ghana have tasked ourselves to join the IDF to educate the World, especially Ghanaians and Africans, about the risks of diabetes, and also support those who have already been diagnosed to manage the condition,” she said.