THE Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged the Federal Government to declare a national emergency on diabetes care.
The organisation, in a statement on Friday, November 14, also called on the government to increase taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to curb the country’s growing diabetes crisis, as Nigeria joins the global community to mark World Diabetes Day.
The World Health Organisation defines diabetes as “a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.”
Symptoms may include intense thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, unintended weight loss and blurred vision. If untreated, the condition can lead to life-threatening complications affecting the eyes, kidneys, nerves and blood vessels.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, is strongly linked to obesity, sedentary lifestyles and diet while Type 1 diabetes, although less common, requires daily insulin treatment and currently has no known prevention method.
In its statement, CAPPA said recent data by Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN), showed that about 30,000 Nigerians die from diabetes yearly, while over 11 million people live with the disease.
The figures, according to the organisation, far exceeded the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimate of roughly three per cent prevalence, or about 2.99 million adults.
The group warned that the high cost of diabetes management, averaging ₦100,000 to ₦120,000 per month, made proper treatment impossible for most Nigerians and threatened the lives of many families struggling under economic hardship.
“This is yet another troubling statistic on the state of Nigeria’s non-communicable diseases (NCDs) burden, and the country’s public health system,” CAPPA stated.
It added, “It is no wonder that Nigeria’s life expectancy is the lowest globally, according to the latest United Nations’ (UN) global health report.”
The CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said unhealthy diets and the wide availability of sugary drinks and processed foods were driving the surge in diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
He warned that without decisive policy action, Nigeria risked creating generations dependent on high-sugar beverages, leading to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and early deaths.
Oluwafemi urged the government to implement strong prevention policies, including an SSB tax, front-of-pack nutrition labelling, sodium-reduction targets, and restrictions on marketing ultra-processed foods to children.
He added that the strongest prevention policies required a health system capable of supporting millions already living with diabetes.
The group welcomed the government’s efforts to channel revenues from taxes on tobacco, alcohol and other harmful products into health financing, saying dedicated funds could support NCD prevention and management while alleviating the financial burden on families.
“This is why the Federal Government’s ongoing effort to channel revenues from taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and other harmful products into health financing is significant.
“Dedicating these revenues to initiatives such as NCD prevention and management would provide the predictable funding Nigeria urgently needs, especially as the costs of treating diseases like diabetes continue to push families deeper into poverty,” it added.
The CAPPA stressed that increasing the SSB tax to at least ₦130 per litre and introducing mandatory nutrition labels would reduce consumption, encourage product reformulation, generate revenue for the health sector, and empower Nigerians to make healthier choices.
The ICIR reported that as part of this year’s commemoration, the WHO in a statement noted that diabetes increasingly affects people from childhood to old age.
With the theme, the organisation said every person living with diabetes should have access to supportive environments, policies and health services that promote dignity, effective self-management and long-term wellbeing.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M