by Chrispinus Omar
NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A 3-year campaign aimed at reducing the high incidence of diabetes in Kenya was launched in Nairobi on Friday.
The Diabetes Awareness and Prevention Campaign which was launched by the Kenyan government and Germany pharmaceutical firm, Merck Serono, aims to improve the quality of life and reduce complications and premature mortality in people with diabetes.
Speaking in Nairobi during the launch, Kenya's Medical Services Minister Professor Anyang Nyong'o urged the private sector to prioritize diabetes prevention, care and treatment to prevent the disease from turning into a national epidemic.
The initiative comes at the backdrop of warnings from the ministries of health that diabetes is becoming a major health threat with approximately 1.6 million Kenyans living with the condition.
"This is important occasion for hospitals and for the ministries of health at large because diabetes has become a disease of concern in Kenya, with approximately 1.6 million Kenyans living with the condition," Nyong'o told journalists in Nairobi.
He said the 3-year campaign dubbed Get Informed-Get Active-Get Healthier will be quite crucial in bridging the knowledge gap in diabetes prevention and prevention particularly in rural areas where the need is high.
During the launch, Nyong'o emphasized on the need for Kenyans to adopt healthy lifestyles, besides getting regulator medical check-ups to prompt early detection and treatment in order to thwart complications associated with diabetes.
"We cannot continue to have people losing their limbs, eyesight or suffering from kidney malfunctions from a condition that is both preventable and manageable," the minister said.
He said the Merck Sereono Capacity Advancement Program that is first being piloted in the country would go a long way in improving diabetes healthcare provision in Kenya and the rest of Africa.
It's estimated that 90 percent of the affected persons are in their productive years ranging from 18-60 years. With more concerted efforts and with continued support and partnership, Nyong'o said, Kenya can bring these figures to a controlled level.
The campaign which is being conducted in partnership with Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Center, will also seek to prevent or delay the development of diabetes in the Kenyan population.
Merck Serono CEO Dr. Stefan Oschman said the rising numbers of diabetes all over the world is a call to prioritize diabetes care and awareness to prevent the disease from turning into a national epidemic.
"This campaign will seek to improve healthcare sector in Africa through educating and empowering those affected by diabetes in one way or another on how to manage and prevent it," Oschman said during the launch in Nairobi.
Kenyatta National Hospital CEO Richard Lesiyampe noted that the cost of managing diabetes is enormous and places a huge burden on already strained healthcare system.
Lesiyampe said the lack of awareness on disease symptoms make many diabetes patients to be diagnosed late when they have already developed complications such as blindness, foot ulcers or gangrene, heart diseases among others.
"KNH will continue to ensure that the public is provided with the right healthcare information as part of our initiative to providing specialized quality healthcare," Lesiyampe said.
The high diabetes prevalence has been blamed on an unhealthy lifestyle. Merck has partnered with Nakumatt supermarket chain to give consumers a supermarket shopping guide, advising them on the appropriate foods to manage diabetes effectively.
"We are working with African countries to establish our Capacity Advancement Program and we are actively engaged in dialogue with local stakeholders to launch capacity advancement structured, country specific and partnership based agenda that are going to add great value to society and to the scientific community," said Merck Serono director of Intercontinental Region, Rasha Kelej.
The program will first be launched in Kenya and will address capacity advancement in research and development, clinical research, supply chain integrity, pharmacovigilence, scientific education and awareness creation.
"We are also going to support healthcare systems development such as accredited scientific education for diabetes health care providers in rural areas. Diabetes clinical training for medical undergraduates of local African universities so that ultimately, they act as diabetes ambassadors," Kelej said.
The Diabetes Management and Information Center CEO, Eva Muchemi, cautioned that if the current trend continues there will be an estimated 2.5 million people in Kenya living with diabetes by 2025.
