Ministry of Health launches diabetes awareness campaign

The Ministry of Health, through Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), has launched a weeklong diabetes awareness campaign ahead of the World Diabetes Day. The campaign, launched yesterday in Kigali, runs from today through November 14 when the World Diabetes Day will be marked. The World Diabetes Day is marked annually to unite the global diabetes community to create a powerful voice for diabetes awareness and advocacy, and engaging governments, individuals and communities to bring the diabetes epidemic into the public spotlight and on national agenda. Volunteers measure their heights during the launch of diabetes awareness campaign yesterday at Rwanda Revue Authority. Timothy Kisambira The launch yesterday involved mass sports, free medical examination activities, including screening of diabetes, heart diseases, eye diseases, body mass index, waist circumference, and giving information about diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Speaking to The New Times, Dr Marie-Aimée Muhimpundu, the head of the NCDs Division at RBC, said the campaign is meant to raise awareness not only on diabetes and its risk factors alone but also other NCDs. Campaign activities throughout the week will include provincial NCDs screening activities and mass sports in four provincial headquarters’ towns; Karongi, Rwamagana, Nyanza and Musanze. Some of the participants at the launch of the diabetes awareness campaign walk for wellness yesterday. / Timothy Kisambira The screening package will include body mass index, blood pressure, and eye check up. On the part of sensitisation, activities will include lighting the Kigali Convention Centre dome in blue (the colour of world diabetes day), two diabetes awareness half-marathons, and mass media campaigns on radio stations, TVs and newspapers aiming at improving the understanding and knowledge of diabetes among Rwandans and showing the importance of sports in combating diabetes. The global theme of this year’s World Diabetes Day is “Eyes on Diabetes.” The burden of diabetes Diabetes is one of the largest global health emergencies of the 21st century. Each year more and more people live with this condition, which can result in life-changing complications. Besides the 415 million adults who are estimated to currently have diabetes, there are 318 million adults with impaired glucose tolerance, which puts them at high risk of developing the disease in the future, according to the ministry. Volunteers make eye tests during the launch of diabetes awareness campaign yesterday. / Timothy Kisambira Medics say it is also the leading cause of heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure, blindness and premature death. About five million people aged between 20 and 79 years died from diabetes in 2015, equivalent to one death every six seconds. Diabetes accounted for 14.5 per cent of global all-cause mortality among people in this age group. This is higher than the combined number of deaths from the infectious diseases (1.5 million deaths from HIV/AIDS, 1.5 million from tuberculosis, and 0.6 million from malaria in 2013). Close to half (46.6 per cent) of deaths due to diabetes are in people under the age of 60, according to World Health Organisation, Global Health Observatory Data Repository. In Rwanda, a 2013 survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with World Health Organisation estimated that 175,575 people (between the ages of 15-64) are living with diabetes, which corresponds to the prevalence of 3 per cent among the population. However, almost half of them are not diagnosed, meaning that they are not aware that they have diabetes. editorial@newtimes.co.rw