The House of Representatives Wednesday mandated its Committee on Health to convene a stakeholders' meeting on the impact of diabetes and make recommendations to combat it.
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The resolution also came on the heels of a motion on the urgent need for a National Policy on Diabetics in Nigeria.
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In the motion sponsored by Hon. Abayomi Ogunnusi (ACN/ Lagos), the House was told that about 1.5 million Nigerians were infected with the disease.
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According to him, majority of those affected remain ignorant of the disease and its consequences.
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Available data from the International Diabetic Foundation indicates that diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death and each year three million deaths worldwide were attributable to it.
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An estimated 195 million people around the world have diabetes, and by 2025, the figure is expected to rise to 333 million amounting to 6.3 per cent of the world's population.
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The lawmaker argued that Nigeria being the most populous nation in Africa, had the highest number of people with diabetes and also the highest number of people with impaired glucose tolerance.
Diabetes is really troubling so many citizens in Nigeria. I don't know why so many people love what causes it --- SUGAR.