Disturbed by the rise in the number of hypertension and diabetes patients in Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has expressed readiness to tackle the menace. The governor made this known on Monday while flagging off the federal government-powered Project 10 Million campaign against hypertension and diabetes tagged “Know Your Number, Control Your Number” in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
Oyebanji, represented by Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye, said Project 10 Million is a national initiative by the forum of health commissioners in the country to tackle the increasing prevalence of hypertension and diabetes. He said Ekiti was combining ‘Project 10 Million Initiative’ with an innovative state intervention to rapidly increase demand for primary health care services in the state, which is key to achieving universal health coverage for the people.
Oyebanji posited that it was highly depressing and disturbing that there is an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the country due to various factors, including lifestyle changes.
According to him: “There is a 70 per cent chance of dying from hypertension and diabetes between the ages of 30 and 70 years in Nigeria. Despite these alarming statistics, a lot of people are not aware of their status as far as these health conditions are concerned, making them a silent threat to their health and well-being. We hope to conduct free screening for about 200,000 people in Ekiti State for hypertension and diabetes within the week-long campaign in 161 screening centres across the state from Monday, 28 October, to Sunday, 3 November 2024, with a focus on adults from age 18 years.”
The governor stated that counselling will be organised for all participants on non-communicable diseases and newly diagnosed people will be linked to a hospital closest to them for care. He said there would also be an opportunity for short-term refills for known hypertension patients during the exercise.
Reeling out his achievements in the health sector, Oyebanji disclosed that his government had, through Ulera Wa, expanded free antenatal care services, free delivery and post-delivery care services for all pregnant women, free immunisation services for all children, and free treatment of all children under the age of five years, among others. He, however, appealed to traditional leaders, religious organisations, market women, local government leaders, health workers, and civil society organisations to support this intervention and ensure its success in their various jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said the rationale behind the free screening was to checkmate the frightening and spiralling level of hypertension and diabetes across the country.
Filani disclosed that statistics confirmed that about 27 per cent of the morbidity rate in the country was due to the scourges of hypertension and diabetes, which he said makes it imperative for the citizens to participate in the free health programme. Our mission in Ekiti State is to spread this campaign to as many people as possible, to know the number of victims and to be able to control it. With the primary healthcare programme, we are planning to ensure that children of less than five years have access to immunisation and pregnant women are made to have access to pregnancy kits and strong antenatal care to reduce in fact and maternal mortality rates,” he said.
The commissioner stated that the programme will be extended to palaces of traditional rulers, schools, market places and faith-based institutions, where citizens can access the services without inhibition.
