Rise in rate of diseases in Nigeria worrisome, doctors lament

Doctors in the country have expressed worries over the rise in non-communicable diseases in Nigeria and said the trend was a development that needed an urgent attention.

The doctors, under the aegis of Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), said the increase in such non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer and hypertension in the country called for a change in the lifestyle of Nigerians.

The public health physicians raised the alarm in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, at the opening of the 33rd National Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of their association, held at the Owolabi Hall of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD).

At the conference with the theme: “Non-Communicable Disease Burden: Health System Preparedness in Nigeria,” they said “there has been growing burden of NCD and that the World Economic Forum has reported it as leading macro economic risk at global level.”

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the Scientific Conference, Dr. Olusegun Elegbede, said during the event that the change in lifestyle of people and the economic recession were among the major culprit in the rising cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

According to Dr Elegbede, “there is evidence that NCDs are undermining the attainment of Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals.”

National Chairman of APHPN, Professor T.M. Akande, in his speech, said “the conference offered another opportunity to network and rub minds on burning public health issues in Nigeria and the strategies for advancing public health practice in Nigeria.”