Government urged to subsidies diabetes drugs

Koforidua, Oct. 12, GNA - Mr Johnny Allotey of Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company, has called on the government to subsidise drugs for the treatment of diabetes.

He explained that, this was necessary because most of the people suffering from diabetes could not afford the cost of drugs for the management of the disease.

Because of their inability to buy the drugs they resort herbal treatment, he said adding that, "the patients come back to the hospitals in worse state".

Speaking on the "Insulin Switch Campaign" at the end of an internship training for five pharmacy staff at the Koforidua Regional Hospital on Friday, Mr Allotey said research had shown that about 4.5 per cent of Ghanaians were diabetic.

He pointed out that diabetics who survived for longer years were those who knew about the disease and how to manage it and called for the education of school children to know what to do when their playmates collapsed as a result of diabetic coma.

Mr Allotey said diabetics should also know the diet for managing the disease, reduce their weight and do the appropriate physical exercises.

He said diabetes who undertake good physical exercises could reduce their insulin intake by almost half.

Mr Allotey said parents who forced their children to over feed often exposed them to obesity and conditions that make them easily affected by diabetes.