Diabetics unaware of their illness, says expert
Sep 17, 2008
Most Ugandans suffering from diabetes are unaware of their condition, Prof. Marcel Otim, the chairman of the Uganda Diabetes Association, has said.
By Ronald Kalyango
Most Ugandans suffering from diabetes are unaware of their condition, Prof. Marcel Otim, the chairman of the Uganda Diabetes Association, has said.
“The disease is increasing because it is a silent killer. Many people have changed their lifestyle. People no longer eat nutritious food and do less exercise,†said Prof. Otim at Mt. Elgon Hotel in Mbale.
He was on Saturday sensitising doctors and clinical officers from Kapchorwa, Tororo, Kumi, Butaleja, Busia, Sironko and Manafwa districts.
Prof. Otim said there are no specific national figures for the number of people suffering from the disease but Mulago Hospital handles over 300 patients weekly.
Dr. Peter Masaba, a diabetes doctor at Mbale Hospital, said there were over 221 patients attended to in Mbale district.
He advised people to avoid the disease by eating food items that contain proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit and do regular excercise.
The Mbale district chairperson, Bernard Mujaasi, wondered why the government had not given attention to non communicable diseases and instead concentrated more on fighting malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
At the same function at Mt. Elgon Hotel, Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries launched Formin, a diabetes drug.
Formin, which regulates sugar levels in bloodd, also helps to reduce the weight of diabetics, 80 percent of whom are usually obese, according to Otim.
He explained that if a patient is underweight the drug “will have no side effect.â€
Otim said Formin reduces diabetes-related deaths by 42% in obese patients. The firm’s business development manager, Antony Kuria, said the drug costs sh3,500 at wholesale price in comparison to a vile of insulin which a diabetic needs every ten days costing sh15,000.
Most Ugandans suffering from diabetes are unaware of their condition, Prof. Marcel Otim, the chairman of the Uganda Diabetes Association, has said.
“The disease is increasing because it is a silent killer. Many people have changed their lifestyle. People no longer eat nutritious food and do less exercise,†said Prof. Otim at Mt. Elgon Hotel in Mbale.
He was on Saturday sensitising doctors and clinical officers from Kapchorwa, Tororo, Kumi, Butaleja, Busia, Sironko and Manafwa districts.
Prof. Otim said there are no specific national figures for the number of people suffering from the disease but Mulago Hospital handles over 300 patients weekly.
Dr. Peter Masaba, a diabetes doctor at Mbale Hospital, said there were over 221 patients attended to in Mbale district.
He advised people to avoid the disease by eating food items that contain proteins, carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit and do regular excercise.
The Mbale district chairperson, Bernard Mujaasi, wondered why the government had not given attention to non communicable diseases and instead concentrated more on fighting malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
At the same function at Mt. Elgon Hotel, Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries launched Formin, a diabetes drug.
Formin, which regulates sugar levels in bloodd, also helps to reduce the weight of diabetics, 80 percent of whom are usually obese, according to Otim.
He explained that if a patient is underweight the drug “will have no side effect.â€
Otim said Formin reduces diabetes-related deaths by 42% in obese patients. The firm’s business development manager, Antony Kuria, said the drug costs sh3,500 at wholesale price in comparison to a vile of insulin which a diabetic needs every ten days costing sh15,000.