Diabetes: Novel blood glucose device debuts in Nigeria

Respite has come the way of diabetic  patients following introduction of  Bayer Contour Ts Blood Glucose Monitoring Device, an easy-to-use meter which enables easy monitoring of blood glucose without assistance from a health care provider. It can also be used in hospitals by doctors to get instant result for their patients with 100 percent accuracy.

At the launch of the product last week in Lagos, Professor Olutayo Alebiosu, Provost, College of Health Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo  said  Nigeria has about three million people suffering from diabetes and with the highest mortality rates due to the disease.

He explained that management of diabetes is very expensive and not affordable by majority of sufferers, noting that while people living with HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis receive medications and do laboratory test free, there are no subsidies for diabetes care.

Speaking, Guest lecturer, a Consultant at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria, Professor Geoffrey Onyemelukwe called for lifestyle change especially by urban dwellers from processed foods to natural foods: fruits, vegetables, etc to stem the diabetes onset. He said regular exercise of up to 150 minutes a week can help in preventing the onset of causative factors of diabetes.

Onyemelukwe called for the establishment of a National Diabetes Centre to provide framework for the management of the disease,.

Chief Executive of Abiagait Health Solutions Limited, Mr. Isaac Thompson Amos said the partnership with Bayer Health Care, Germany to bring the Bayer Contour TS Blood Glucose monitoring system to help government in providing quality health care for the people. The  product  which is currently marketed in 100 countries, is to be  taken to the grassroots.