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Stakeholders deliberate on diabetes global targets
Under the new initiative, 80 per cent of people with diabetes must be diagnosed, and out of these 80 per cent ??? must have a good control of glycaemia and blood pressure, while 60 per cent of people with diabetes over 40 years must receive statins.
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Additionally, 100 per cent of people with Type One diabetes must have access to affordable insulin treatment and blood glucose self-monitoring kit.
Diabetes
At a high-level meeting organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Accra yesterday, stakeholders shared ideas on how to strengthen and monitor diabetes responses within national non-communicable disease (NCD) programmes.
The meeting was on the theme, “Promoting partnerships for diabetes prevention and control”.
The global target for diabetes was developed by WHO member states in May last year at the 75th World Health Assembly.
It was after the meeting that the WHO and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) agreed to develop and implement a joint integrative project in Ghana and Uganda.
Ghana was selected due to its implications for the fight against NCDs and strong commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Under the 2025 project target, 60 per cent of people living with diabetes must be diagnosed, 60 per cent of those diagnosed must have good control of glycaemia and blood pressure and 40 per cent of people with diabetes and 40 years or older must receive statins.
Also, 100 per cent of people with Type One diabetes must have access to affordable insulin and blood glucose self-monitoring kit.
The WHO Representative to Ghana, Francis Kasolo, commended the Ministry of Health for their efforts in addressing NCDs as evidenced by the several high-level events organised over the past year.
“About 24 million adults in Africa are currently living with diabetes, with that number predicted to increase to about 55 million by 2045.
“In Ghana, similar epidemiological trends are reflected with approximately 7.5 per cent of adults having Type-2 diabetes,” he said.
Mr Kasolo, therefore, said there was the need to increase access to diagnostic tools and to determine the true extent of NCDs and diabetes.
Progress
Mr Kasolo said the WHO had developed the Global Diabetes Compact to reduce the negative impacts of the disease and to ensure that people living with diabetes had access to equitable, affordable and quality treatment and care.
He urged Ghanaians to prioritise eating healthy combined with regular exercising, avoid tobacco smoking, maintain a healthy weight and limit alcohol consumption.
Mr Kasolo, however, expressed WHO’s commitment to fully support improving diabetes care in Ghana.
Control NCDs
The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, in his address said there were about 2.4 million persons living with diabetes, to which he expressed the country’s commitment to ensure the prevention and control of NCDs.
He said Ghana had signed onto the Global NCDs compact to accelerate efforts towards achieving SDG 3.4 and 3.8 and the WHO Global Diabetes Compact in response to the increasing burden of diabetes around the world.
Mr Agyeman-Manu called for a collective effort to implement the WHO Global Diabetes Compact in Ghana while taking meaningful steps towards improving diabetes prevention, care and management in our country.
The President of the Ghana Diabetes Association (GDA), Elizabeth Esi Denyoh, commended the Ministry and the WHO for their efforts to help curb diabetes in Ghana and Africa.
She called on all stakeholders to collaborate with the association to establish a diabetes foundation to reduce diabetes.
