Sugar Taxes Nigeria
The Nigerian federal government says it is committed to attain the global best practice of nearly 20 per cent taxation on the final retail price on all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). With non-communicable diseases believed to be the leading cause of death in Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, evidence-based interventions are being recommended by […]
Nigeria Unveils National Eye Health Plan
The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a National Eye Health Strategic Development Plan including a Diabetic Retinopathy screening and management guideline together with Glaucoma Guidelines and Toolkit which are policy documents aimed at improving vision and eye health in the country. Around 24 million Nigerians are living with treatable sight loss caused by untreated […]
Sugar Tax Battles in Nigeria
The battle rages in Nigeria over sugar taxes as some industry players continue to resist and campaign against them, particularly in developing countries. In Nigeria, the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) organisation recently hosted a media event to highlight the significance of healthy food policies such as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax. During the […]
Nigeria – Coalition for Sugar Taxes
A coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), including the Nigerian Diabetes Association, are calling on the Nigerian Government to introduce the sugar tax that was introduced in a Finance Act last year and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. The purpose of the tax is to help tackle the health risks of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages […]
Eye Care News
Why Regular Eye Checkups Prevent Blindness The relationship between diabetes and eye damage is sometimes overlooked, despite it being a condition that affects the entire body system, including both the internal and external organs like the eye, kidney, heart, and brain. Ophthalmologist Dr. Tunji Oluleye, from the College Hospital, Ibadan Nigeria, argues that regular eye […]
World Diabetes Day 2021
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Fredrick Banting, who discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. Cyprus – For WDD the Medieval Castles of Paphos and Larnaka, as well as the Cyprus Museum at Nicosia (pictured), were lit blue. The Cyprus Diabetic Association persuaded the […]
Nigerian Campaign for a 20 percent tax on Sugary Drinks
A coalition of non-governmental organisations, has urged the Nigerian Federal and State governments to place a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks and sugarsweetened beverages in the country. The coalition warned that the lack of excise duties on sugar-sweetened beverages could lead to a spike in the already worsening occurrences of diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, […]
Nigeria – Importance of Foot Care Spelt Out
Increased mortality in patients living with diabetes who have had to undergo limb amputations is well documented, yet Podiatry is often seen as a ‘Cinderella’ part of a health service with limited numbers of practitioners in some countries. Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to foot and ankle surgery where effective management of limb […]
News in Brief
Japanese firm predicting 7 per cent increase among people with diabetes requiring a Kidney transplant. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Health-Care/Japan-s-Nipro-pumps-1bn-into-doubling-output-of-artificial-kidneys Patient criticism in Nigeria over high cost of treatment and lack of government policies. https://punchng.com/diabetes-patients-lament-lack-of-govt-policy-high-cost-of-treatment How some young type 1 South Africans successfully campaigned for a health insurer to offer a continuous glucose monitor benefit. A great advocacy example. […]
Academic Partnership with Diabetes Africa
Nigeria’s University of Abuja has entered into a partnership with Diabetes Africa, to address the dearth of diabetologists and other health care professionals who play a critical role in the study and management of diabetes. The hope is to establish a network of health professionals through a diabetes educational programme aimed at improving the quality […]
World Diabetes Day Report continued
Kenya A Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre event partnered with the Ministry of Health, Novo Nordisk and Roche was used to highlight the burden of Diabetes in the country and the plight of people living with diabetes. Held at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi the event majored on the role nurses and other health workers […]
Not Just People with Diabetes at Increased Covid Risk
In a major study in Spain, researchers have concluded that abnormally high blood sugar may worsen outcomes and mortality rates for Covid-19 patients, including those without diabetes. The findings show patients with abnormally high glucose levels were more than twice as likely to die from the virus than those with normal readings. 11,000 non-critically ill […]
Benefits of Soybeans in Type 2 Prevention
A leading nutrition expert has urged Nigerians to explore soybeans as a good food source, to alleviate malnutrition and achieve good health. Professor Ibiyemi Olayiwola, Professor of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), described soybeans as an excellent source of protein, with the added advantage of being affordable. She noted that […]
Nigeria
Besides Covid-19 where cases approach 60,000 and over 1,000 deaths, Nigeria has a huge burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Covid statistics actually paint an impressive picture for a nation of 200 million people with a comparatively weak health system. The country is suffering from another health crisis that hardly came in the limelight. The […]