Since 2007, World Diabetes Day on November 14 has been a United Nations (UN) designated day. This year 2020, the motto “Nurses make a difference” affirms the central role of medical staff and caregivers in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. We give them our full attention, as they play an essential role in early detection and education of patients, thus avoiding the terrible and costly after-effects of diabetes. World Diabetes Day is dedicated to them. It draws attention to the growing number of patients and the important role played by medical personnel.
As part of the celebration of World Diabetes Day, Iprosarude ( Initiative for Promotion of Rural Health and Development) , organized mass awareness sessions through community radio stations in the provinces of Gitega and Kayanza.
According to Dr Wilson, Head of the Polyclinic Hope of Kayanza for Iprosarude, on Ubuzima FM radio in Kayanza, broadcasting on 90.4 FM, this radio mass awareness action aims primarily to increase public knowledge about diabetes, to raise awareness among people at risk, and to encourage preventive behaviors of everyone.
Secondly, it is to raise awareness among citizens about the dangers of diabetes and hypertension and their impact on health,” said Dr Wilson.
To this end, Dr Wilson provided the general public with a variety of information about diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by the presence of excess sugar in the blood, called hyperglycemia (a blood glucose level or blood sugar level greater than 1.26 grams/litre (7 mmol/l) of fasting blood, measured twice). There are two types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is due to a lack of insulin secretion by the pancreas. There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes. It usually appears in childhood or adolescence and is usually treated with lifelong insulin therapy.
For Dr Wilson, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes requires a combination of approaches at both the population and individual level. He encouraged radio listeners from Kayanza, Kirundo, Muyinga, Ngozi, Mwaro and Gitega provinces to reduce risk factors.
“The risk of type 2 diabetes in the population can be reduced by: promoting a balanced diet, especially by eating fruits and vegetables, high-fiber foods and limiting the consumption of fatty products or added sugars such as soft drinks; promoting regular physical activity; and reducing overweight and obesity. Dr Wilson hammered it home.
He also pointed out that at Iprosarude, the entire year 2019 was marked by the presence of medical specialists who led free diabetes awareness and screening sessions for the general public within its clinics as well as awareness sessions on the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle.
It is also worth remembering that November 14, a day dedicated to diabetes, is the birthday of Frederick Banting, who, with his collaborator Charles Best, discovered insulin in Toronto in 1921. Millions of lives have since been saved among diabetics around the world. Two years later, Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize for this vitally important discovery.
E.Allickan Niragira
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