Firm begins healthcare professional training on diabetes care

Roche Diabetes Care (DC) Nigeria has commenced a three-month healthcare professional training on diabetes care, tagged “Healthcare Practitioner in Diabetes Mentorship Programme”. The company’s Product Manager, Mr Tosin Akinsulire, said this in a statement issued in Lagos on Monday.

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Akinsulire said the company had conducted the programme across the five cities including Kaduna, Jos, Ibadan, Benin and Lagos. According to him, the  programme aims to create a platform for education and mentoring for healthcare professionals across Nigeria to uplift the standard of diabetes care in the country.

He said that according to the International Diabetes Federation, diabetes has a prevalence of 3.7 per cent in Nigeria, affecting around 3.6 million people, and still on the rise.

“Effective diabetes management remains a pressing concern, with a rising burden of diabetes complications and deaths and significant strain on public health systems already under considerable pressure,” he said.

He added that low instances of blood glucose monitoring and lack of an Integrated Personalised Diabetes Management (IPDM) framework were substantial barriers to addressing the burden.

“Nigeria has an alarming  low frequency of blood glucose monitoring among people with diabetes. One of the primary reasons for this issue is the reliance on in-clinic blood glucose values for assessment, which is not sufficient to achieve better outcomes for patients on a broader scale. Low awareness among doctors and nurses about the importance of routine blood glucose testing, low self-monitoring among patients, the pain associated with pricking and the economic burden of frequent monitoring. So, Roche is committed to improve access to diabetes care in the communities it operates in. Our aim is to address these issues by empowering more healthcare professionals to enhance patient outcomes and embrace integrated personalised diabetes management approaches through education and mentorship.”

Akinsulire further said that the mentorship programme focuses on long-term capacity building through increased investment in research and development. According to him, the programme will provide a platform to seasoned experts and mentors, including Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. Akinsulire said this was to conduct interactive sessions and share their experiences, discuss real-local data, and provide practical guidance.

He also noted that the aim was to train 350 healthcare professionals and raise 200 advocates, adding that this diverse group includes general practitioners, residents, senior registrars, endocrinologists, nurses and pharmacists from tertiary and secondary hospitals.

Fesanmade said this was by facilitating the sharing of experience, data-driven insights, practical perspectives and knowledge transfer from experienced experts to younger professionals.

The don said this would equip them as healthcare providers with the skills and understanding they need to implement personalised diabetes care effectively, for the good of more patients in Nigeria and beyond.

Wumi/NAN