Insulin affordability, storage are major challenges in diabetes management – Administrator
Mr Prince Ofori, the Administrator of Diabetes Youth Care (DYC), has indicated that the high cost of insulin and difficulty in its storage are major challenges to diabetes management in Ghana.
He said for effective diabetes management with insulin, a person required at least GH₵1000.00 a month, which was quite expensive considering the current economic challenges in the country.
Mr Ofori said this in Wa at the weekend during a knowledge dissemination and exchange workshop titled: “Mobilizing relevant stakeholders to address diabetes risk and management in marginally exposed populations.”
The two-pronged study, titled: “Diabetes Risk and Management in Ghana: Challenges and Way Forward,” was conducted by Queen’s University in partnership with other public and private institutions.
One part focused on diabetes among older persons involving 522 participants in Tamale, Bolgatanga and Wa by the Queen’s University and the Ghana Health Service.
The second part was on diabetes among youth involving 40 participants using Photovoice in Kumasi and Wa by the Queen’s University, DYC, Ghana Health Service and Canadian Institute of Health Research.
Religious leaders, representatives from the Upper West Regional and Wa Municipal Hospitals, the Regional Health Directorate, Ghana Education Service, Persons Living with Diabetes (PLWDs) and parents at the meeting discussed diabetes risk and management in Ghana.
“Access may be there, but for affordability, they are not able to buy. This is because if you have an average person, how much is the salary that for one child, you need to be spending close to GH₵2,000.00 a month just to be buying insulin for that person”, Mr Ofori explained.
He observed that difficulty in accessing refrigerators in schools and some households also adversely affected the effective management of diabetes as PLWDs could not store the insulin at the right temperatures for use.
Stigma, misconstruing insulin as hard drugs, social exclusion, rejection, and lack of social support among others were other challenges PLWDs faced, which adversely affected effective diabetes management.
Mr Ofori, therefore, advocated good knowledge of diabetes, strong social, community and family support for PLWDs and constant availability of insulin in health facilities to help in the condition’s management.
Presenting the research findings, Dr. Joseph Kangmennaang, Assistant Professor, School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University, Canada, stated that many PLWDs in Ghana had knowledge of diabetes management but a few could manage the condition.
He said PLWDs with strong social support were more likely to manage diabetes well as compared to those with weak social support.
“In general, the findings from this study lend support to the role of social support in facilitating the adoption of a healthful lifestyle for diabetes management in Ghana,” the report said.
Some participants of the study identified difficulty in managing feeding, difficulty in accessing vegetables in some seasons; and inability to exercise due to old age among others affected their effective diabetes management.
Dr Matilda Akanzum, a Paediatrician at the Upper West Regional Hospital, explained that diabetes could be inherited through genetic mutation during birth, which affects the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin that controls the sugar concentration in the human system.
She added that a person’s lifestyle such as his or her feeding trend and exercise could increase the person’s risk of contracting the condition.
Dr. Akanzum advised people to exercise, check their diet, and do regular Body-Mass Index (BMI) check to help reduce their risk of getting diabetes.
Mr Anthony Kula, the Upper West Regional Nutrition Officer, said high consumption of fibre-laden food was important in managing diabetes since fibre helps reduce the rate at which glucose is released into the blood.
He also urged people to reduce their intake of food with refined sugar or processed foods to reduce their risk of getting diabetes.
Source: GNA