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Odewale: Caring For People Living With Diabetes

HALIMAT Ibironke Odewale must have taken to heart the saying, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.’ In the face of the trauma and hopelessness many Nigerians suffering and dying from diabetes go through daily, she decided to do something. So, together with a friend, they formed The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community (NGDOC) a non-governmental organisation and a platform to provide better insight into the management of the disease.   

  “I was motivated to float the Nigeria Diabetes Online Community because of the many cases of complications that arise from diabetes mellitus such as amputations, kidney failure and non-healing wounds among others. There is also the poor knowledge and awareness associated with the disease.

   “I have had family members, who suffered from complications of diabetes. I have the constant fear that if nothing were done about the current state of diabetes in the country, its prevalence and the consequent complications would continue. In a few years, we are going to have far greater trouble from diabetes than we already have.”  

 When the organisation was set up in 2012, statistics relating to diabetes in Nigeria enforces the need for a support structure that aims at creating awareness through education, improved knowledge as well as acting as a peer support platform for diabetes care.

   “A research conducted by the International Diabetes Federation discovered that peer support was one of the best forms of management for people living with diabetes, as the care for diabetes lies primarily with people living with diabetes.

    “The level of knowledge, awareness, attitude and care for diabetes in Nigeria is low. As such, NGDOC serves as an educative, promoting tool that uses the social peer support platform for people living with diabetes, caregivers, families and friends. Social media use is increasing in Nigeria with majority of the youths being regular users.

   “The NGDOC was thus created to empower and educate people about diabetes using online social platforms. The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community aims to provide sustainable human health development through online social activities,” she said.

    To Halimat, it is important that all Nigerians join in checking the spread of the disease, because according to the International Diabetes Federation Atlas 6th Edition 2013, an estimated 19.8 million adults in Africa have diabetes— a regional prevalence of 4.9 per cent with Nigeria having the highest number of people living with the disease in Africa. The records show about 3.9 million diagnosed cases and 1.8 million undiagnosed cases. 

    “An estimated 522,600 people in Africa died from diabetes-related causes in 2013 and of these, 105, 091 occurred in Nigeria. Seventy-six per cent deaths caused by diabetes mellitus in Africa occur before the age of 60. These figures are alarming and steadily rising, and unless we actively work together to educate people about the disease, its level, especially in Nigeria will continue to rise.

  “Many people living with uncontrolled diabetes due to poor knowledge of the disease don’t realise that they have a higher chance of suffering from certain conditions until such complications begin to manifest.

  “Uncontrolled diabetes affects many major organs including the heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. And when this occurs, it can lead to certain conditions such as heart diseases and stroke, retinopathy and other eye complications, kidney diseases, foot ulcers and infections among others. No part of the body is spared, when it comes to diabetes complications. 

   “The psychological and financial burden of diabetes on those living with the disease and their caregivers is high, especially among the low and middle-income groups. Complications result in loss of valuable manpower and a decrease in the lifespan of those affected,” she said.

 This, perhaps, explains her thinking that it is imperative to create an intervention platform, because in interacting with people living with the disease, she has come to see that knowledge of the disease and how to live with it is very poor among majority of those affected. This, in turn, has a negative impact on their quality of life in many cases.

   “Many of them get wrong advice from family, friends and other caregivers about what their diet should be like. Some even starve themselves. Diabetes is a chronic disease that usually requires lifelong treatment. The cost of purchasing drugs and insulin is sometimes a problem for people living with the disease, especially the low-income earners. So, some of them get discouraged and do not comply with medication. 

   “Paying for the treatment in Nigeria is out-of-pocket, as the insurance system for such is yet to be well developed. This further worsens the financial burden. In some rural areas, accessing hospital facilities for proper management is limited due to lack of transportation or distance; and this further adds to the discouragement to actively seek good medical care.

   “People living with diabetes also lack adequate peer support system to empower and encourage them to live positively with it,” she said.

   So what has NGDOC been doing so far? “We have been providing information and peer support using the following platforms: Facebook (www.facebook.com/NGDOC); Twitter (@theNGdoc), Website and Blog.

  “Due to the high demand for social peer support for people living with diabetes by Nigerians, and the high population, who are neither online nor on any social media platform, we have also been having activities offline.

    “In partnership with 100 Campaign, we are working on advocating insulin for all in Nigeria by the year 2022 (Insulin’s 100th year anniversary).

  “We are also in strategic partnership with Heal the World Foundation Nigeria on diabetes, health awareness and education of the less privileged, orphanage and children with disabilities.

  “We partnered with Pink Impact Nigeria and Curb Cancer Nigeria on medical outreaches, free screening and counselling to underserved communities in Nigeria.

  “And in collaboration with Diabeticare International Nigeria, we coordinate regular tweet chats to facilitate interactions among people living with diabetes on twitter.

  “We also provide regular healthy living tips for the general population, aimed at diabetes prevention and care via media and mobile phone campaigns (text messages, phone calls and bulk SMS.)

  “We conduct Research works, aimed at providing adequate care and prevention of diabetes in Nigeria. The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community has grown steadily to close to 1, 000 followers on Twitter, hundreds of followers on Facebook and thousands of views on our website and blog globally. Since last June till date, we have created about 3 million impressions on twitter.

  “To celebrate this year’s World Diabetes Day, The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community organised a learn and recharge interaction and an essay competition titled ‘Diabetes in Nigeria: Protecting the Future’. Abdulquadri Akinsanya, a student of Olabisi Onabanjo University emerged winner with a prize.

   “And apart from using the Internet to achieve our aims and objectives, The Nigeria Diabetes Online Community also carries out its activities offline so as to incorporate individuals/organisations not on social media or on the Internet. We have organised free medical outreaches and health campaigns across Ogun and Lagos States.

   As part of the build up to this year’s World Diabetes Day, which held November 2, Halimat said her organisation collaborated with two other NGOs to provide free medical outreach to Customs Barracks at Idi-iroko in Ogun state. A team of medical personnel were involved in the outreach and over 1500 members of the community were present.    

  “Amongst other things, a brief health talk was delivered and diabetes screening was carried out, with referral when necessary to general hospitals.

   “In November this year, NGDOC was involved in a medical outreach to Takwa Bay in collaboration with Pink Impact, Lagos state, where free risk assessment for type 2 diabetes and diabetes screening was carried out. About100 people benefitted from the exercise.”

 How has the organisation been funding its activities? “We rely on individual donors, who identify with the organisation’s cause though in the near future, we are looking at the possibility of financial partnerships and grants for research work,” she said.

   She would want more institutions and NGOs to get involved in diabetes awareness and care. “For instance, Chevron Nigeria, recently sponsored three members from the organisation to the just concluded International Diabetes Federation’ World Diabetes Congress in Melbourne, Australia.    She suggested that efforts should be made for people with diabetes to receive necessary psychosocial support from individuals and hospitals asides government rendering more support in awareness campaigns, establishment of non-communicable diseases diagnostic centers across the nation as well as subsidising costs of diabetes treatment.   

  Though it has not been easy, Halimat said it has been worthwhile. The positive feedback she and her team have been receiving has been a great motivation to keep doing more. “Steadily, more people are showing interest in diabetes prevention and care. We’ve also been able to partner with some other organisations both locally and internationally that identify with our cause. This is making it possible for NGDOC to keep growing.”

  In future, Halimat, who hails from Ogun State and is a final year medical student of Olabisi Onabajo University Teaching Hospital, intends to continue striving to raise the health and wellness of all people with diabetes and related chronic conditions through awareness of healthy lifestyles, management and prevention of the disease.

   “We aim to create a mobile platform for awareness and empowerment of people living with diabetes towards a consistent decline in diabetes in Nigeria. Ultimately, it is our hope that in the near future, at least one member of every family in Nigeria will become a diabetes advocate,” she said.

 The recipient of LEAP Africa’s Social Innovators Programme fellowship for 2014 recalled growing up in a strict but very loving family, whose influence has helped to shape her into the strong and independent person she is today. 

    “My parents gave me the best of everything and for that, I’m eternally grateful. I was surrounded by people, who brought out the best in me academically, morally, and even spiritually. Growing up was a lot of fun and a period of my life I always look back upon with a smile. I cherish every moment of it.

   “I grew up in Kano State and I remember the city as a very peaceful place. I also remember playing and sleeping at family friends’ places. My siblings and I read a lot of Enid Blyton books and sometimes we’d even act out the parts. My siblings and I, together with our friends played video games and there was this spirit of innocent, healthy competition.”

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