Media urged to help fight diabetes

The media has been urged to take more responsibility in the fight against diabetes. Addressing a workshop organised for media practitioners by the Rwanda Diabetes Association (RDA) on Tuesday in Kigali, the association’s chairman, Francois Gishoma, revealed that the disease is on the increase globally and it has continued to claim millions of people around the world. He called on the media to take the lead in addressing the situation. “The study conducted in 1995 showed that 135 million people lost their lives to diabetes globally each year and it has increased to 300 million in 2010,” he said. He added that “In 2007 when we used the media, there was an increase in the number of people who tested, but to date it has decreased despite the disease being on the rise”. He called for a massive sensitization campaign to urge the population to go for testing, and also engage in preventive measures. Gishoma noted that people suffering from the disease often go for treatment when their body systems are already weakened. Keolaste Kaberuka, the Coordinator of International Diabetes Federation (IDF) said that: “For diabetes to show out its symptoms it means the body cells have been destroyed and therefore not resistant to the disease.” He said that a study is being conducted to show how the country is being affected by diabetes both socially and economically. Diabetes is a chronic disease which comes as a result of increased glucose in the body. Preventive measures, which include keeping the body physically fit, feeding on carbohydrates and proteins, Ends

National

Media urged to help fight diabetes