About 4 million Ghanaians are living with diabetes

           Diabetes in Ghana
About 4 million Ghanaians are living with diabetes. Diabetes is a medical condition in which the person has high blood glucose level (or blood sugar) either because of insufficient insulin production or because the body cells do not respond properly to insulin or both.

About 4 million Ghanaians are living with diabetes, the Ghana Diabetes Association has revealed.
“The Ghana Diabetes Association conducted a screening on selected urban areas and has estimated that there are about 4 million diabetics in Ghana,” a statement by the Health Ministry said.

Statistics show that in 2015 alone, a total of 266,200 cases were recorded.
Ghana, on November 14, 2016 joined the rest of the world to mark World Diabetes Day. The Ghana Diabetes Association
held a public symposium on the theme ‘Managing Diabetes within the Ghanaian eating context’ to highlight some of the
healthy eating principles Ghanaians must adopt.
Dr. Gladys Peprah Boateng, a former dietician at the 37 Military Hospital, who spoke at the forum advised the general
public to always check the quality and moderation of food consumed adding that “The burden of diabetes is that it affects every part of your body.”
On his part, Prof. Agyeman Badu Akosa, a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service and guest speaker of
the event advised that healthy meal should always include staple foods such as legumes, vitamin rich foods and protein source foods.

He said Ghanaians should reduce their alcohol intake and embark on regular exercises to lower their blood sugar levels. The nutritionist further called on young people to read more
about diabetes and learn more about its early detection to slow down chronic complications.
Diabetes and associated chronic conditions are rapidly emerging as major health problems. It remains one of the
leading causes of death worldwide, the World Health Organisation has said.

It is estimated that 347 million people globally have diabetes.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 8 percent of the population above 25 years have diabetes.
Diabetes is a medical condition in which the person has high blood glucose (or blood sugar) either because of insufficient insulin production or because the body cells do not respond
properly to insulin or both making it affecting all body parts.

Its complications include cardiovascular ailments, cerebrovascular accidents, renal insufficiency, blindness, sexual
impotence and gangrene of the feet which often leads to amputation.

Source: pulse news