Health Education key to addressing diabetic surge in the country

Douglas Namunane -PCO

The Government has committed resources to foster diabetes awareness among Kenyans; State Department for Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr. Ouma Oluga has said.

Dr. Oluga said the move aims to enlighten the population about the cause, impact and possible prevention mechanisms of diabetes.

"We have made a lot of progress in terms of information to the public on diabetes, and the key among that progress is the 107,000 community health promoters. You will remember that the community health promoters have a bag, and that kit, a glucometer, or the machine for measuring sugar, and they also get the strips," he stated.

The Principal Secretary made in Naivasha when he officiated the 10 Annual Scientific Conference organized by the Kenya Diabetic Study Group.

"Every community healthcare worker has around 100 households. And what we are encouraging Kenyans is to use this opportunity," he said.

Dr. Oluga said through the Social Health Insurance Act, the government has established the Social Health Authority that incorporates the primary health care fund. 

He stated the primary health care fund has free, unpaid prevention, screening, and testing for diabetes through the community health care workers as well as at all levels two and three health facilities across the country.

Dr. Oluga revealed that approximately 800,000 Kenyans are living with diabetes. He said out of the numbers only 20 per cent have access to a comprehensive medical scheme.

"So, there are 600,000 of them that get some level of care, but that care is not as optimum as the global standards would be. And that is why we want to do access programs so that the medications are cheaper," Dr. Oluga explained.

 The PS said MOH has further put in place prevention programs to bring down the numbers ailing from the disease.

"We want to do capacity building programs so that all county hospitals and national referral hospitals have professionals who are competent and capable of diagnosing and managing both the diabetes itself and the complications that come with it," the PS emphasized.

Dr. Oluga noted that due to inadequate information about the illness, there are chances of additional Kenyans suffering from the disease without knowledge.

"If you have 800,000 Kenyans, we are likely to have around two million Kenyans somehow either pre-diabetic or living with diabetic.

And most of them are diagnosed when they come with kidney issues or when they have collapsed or when they come with organ damage. We want to make sure that we are investing in education. But also, we want every Kenyan to take initiative, to go and get screened," he stated.

Dr. Oluga said the Ministry of Health has put in place a policy to reduce the cost of diabetic medication by half.

"We want to reduce the cost of medications by around 50 per cent. We are working on an access program where the Ministry of Health will take the lead in engaging with manufacturers of diabetic products and diabetic medicines," he added.

The Principal Secretary commended the Kenya Diabetic Study Group, saying it has been a key driver of the information that the Ministry of Health uses for the policy and diabetic management information.

Kenya Diabetic Study Group President Dr. Roselyne Ngugi said the organization is partnering with the government to build capacity for health care promoters.