Posted by By Sola Adebayo, Warri on
Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has raised the alarm over the spread of hypertension and diabetes among Nigerians.....
Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has raised the alarm over the spread of hypertension and diabetes among Nigerians.
Okowa said one out of 12 Nigerians were hypertensive, adding that the majority of those affected were not aware of their health status.
He said hypertension and diabetes often led to renal failure.
Okowa said this at the opening of the scientific conference of the Nigerian Medical Association, Delta State Chapter, held in Ughelli on Sunday evening.
Okowa told medical practitioners and members of the public at the conference, with the theme, 'Health Sector Reforms and Millennium Goal," to be concerned about their health status at all times.
He urged Nigerians to periodically check their blood pressure for early signs of hypertension and diabetes.
To this end, Okowa who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Tosan Popo, said the state government had established a dialysis centre at the Central Hospital, Warri, to assist members of the public to detect their health status, especially in relation to hypertension and diabetes.
Similarly, Okowa said some doctors and nurses attached to government- owned hospitals had been sponsored to study dialysis at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos.
Okowa said all hospitals in the state had been upgraded to attend to health needs of the people while new accident centres had been established in Warri and Agbor to take care of accident victims.
Consequently, he warned medical practitioners in the service of the state Health Management Board, against diverting patients to their private hospitals.
According to him, severe punishment awaited anybody found indulging in such unwholesome practice.