Diabetes: An Increasingly Prevalent and Expensive to Treat Health Problem in Nigeria

Going by World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, the rate at which people develop diabetes is alarming. The global incidence of the disorder increased by almost 300 percent between 1980 and 2014, reaching 422 million. Of course, a higher number of people are living with the condition today.

Diabetes

The occurrence of diabetes in low- and middle-income countries is growing even more rapidly compared to high-income ones, according to the WHO. Nigeria is a low-income country and it is experiencing a disturbing rise in cases.

Health experts in the country have expressed concerns about how more and more people are developing this condition. What’s more worrying about this is that many of those affected cannot easily afford the cost of care.

The diabetes situation in Nigeria urgently demands carefulness on the part of individuals and the right policies by the authorities to guard against serious implications.

Diabetes on the rise

Diabetes is a condition that results from an inefficient regulation of sugar in the blood. It develops when the pancreas fails to produce adequate insulin or when the body does not properly respond to the hormone. Insulin helps to control blood sugar.

This condition ranks among the world’s fastest-rising chronic diseases. It can have severe effects on different parts of the body and overall health.

Estimates of the number of people in Nigeria living with diabetes vary according to the sources. They range from about four million people to more than 11 million.

“From the mathematical calculations we have done 11.2 million Nigerians are living with diabetes. Out of the diabetes Atlas we made like an extrapolation published by IDF Diabetes ATLAS that days in Nigeria at least 3.6 million persons are living with diabetes,” said Professor Sunny Chinenye, as reported by Vanguard Nigeria. “We have looked at all our local studies and put it together and it is 11.2 million Nigerians.”

The consultant endocrinologist at the University of Port Harcourt noted that a significant proportion (about 40 percent) of the people living with diabetes did not even know it. They have not undergone a diagnosis at all.

Many people do not visit hospitals or medical laboratories until they are down. This means a lot of persons only get diagnosed with diabetes after significant damage has been done.

More worryingly, it seems the rising incidence of this condition is set to continue. For example, the country ranks fourth in the global consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) or soft drinks.

The WHO recommends no more than 10 sugar cubes per day. A 35cl soft drink bottle can contain up to nine cubes. Also, many soft drink bottles are bigger than 35 cl.

Health and financial implications

The rising prevalence of diabetes in Nigeria is of great concern especially considering this is a low-income country. It is also alarming that practically people of all ages are impacted – babies are not spared.

For a country with a somewhat overstretched and not well-funded health sector, this chronic disease constitutes a big threat.

A typical effect of uncontrolled diabetes is elevated blood sugar or hyperglycemia. This can cause serious damage to body tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. As a result, other awful disorders can develop from this condition.

The WHO says diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, heart attacks, kidney failures, stroke, and leg amputations. And, while there was an overall decline in premature mortality from the four major noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases) globally between 2000 and 2016, the rate rose by five percent for this condition.

Rising cases of diabetes in Nigeria, therefore, put the lives of more people at risk. It doesn’t help that many Nigerians lack access to quality health care.

Of course, diabetes can be managed. But the costs are prohibitive. The cost of treatment exceeds the earnings of many people, so the poor are often left helpless.

The cost of treatment per person rose from an estimated N60,000 ($140) in 2011 to N300,000 ($701) in 2021, according to experts. That cost is expected to exceed N500,000 ($1,169) by 2030 and more than N1 million ($ 2,339) by 2045. All this in a country where many people earn N50,000 ($117) or less. (1 USD = 427.6 NGN)

Medical experts are, therefore, calling for policies that would help to address the problem. One of the suggestions is to tax SSBs to discourage their intake.

There is also a need for public-private partnerships to combat diabetes and make treatment more accessible to those affected.