The Anambra Government says it will screen its civil servants for diabetes and hypertension to check the rising cases of the diseases in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Akabuike, said this while speaking at this year’s World Diabetes Day in Awka.
Akabuike explained that the day was set aside in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes.
“Diabetes affects all organs of the body leading to complications such as stroke, heart attack, hypertension, peripheral nerve damage and blindness.
“The health condition could be prevented by adopting good eating habits, physical exercises and maintaining a normal body weight.
“It is advisable that people should eat local foods as is the case in the olden days, since the cause of diabetes is poor dietary system.
“Diabetes could develop due to absence of insulin or reduced response of cells to insulin and blood sugar is not moved into cells for energy generation,’’ he said.
Akabuike said that the prevalence cases in Nigeria were over 1.5 million people suffering from it.
He said that the state government had created a unit with a focal person where periodic tests are carried out with counselling and health education.
Besides, the commissioner said that all hospitals in the state screen for diabetes and encouraged residents of the state to go to the nearest hospital for screening. (NAN)