Janet Ogundepo
The Diabetes Association of Nigeria has urged the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, to urgently subsidise diabetes medicines and supplies, expand health insurance coverage, and establish a national diabetes policy to make treatment affordable for millions of Nigerians living with the condition.
The association also called for a total tax waiver on imported diabetes medicines and consumables, including insulin, oral drugs, glucometers and test strips, warning that rising treatment costs were leaving patients unable to manage the condition and putting their lives at risk.
DAN made the demands in an open letter to the minister dated November 14, 2026, and signed by its National President, Professor Ejiofor Ugwu, to mark World Diabetes Day.
World Diabetes Day is observed globally every year on November 14 to raise awareness about diabetes as a global health challenge.
The theme for this year is “Early action on diabetes.”
In the letter, DAN’s president stated that about 11.4 million Nigerians were living with diabetes, but only about a third had been diagnosed, adding that only about a third of those diagnosed received appropriate treatment, while a third of those treated achieved good blood sugar control.
Ugwu further noted that prices of diabetes medicines and consumables have risen by more than 500 per cent in five years, while the average monthly cost of care is now between N200,000 and N300,000, making treatment unaffordable for most Nigerians.
Recalling its previous appeal for government intervention, the association said the situation had worsened for many patients.
“A year ago, we cried out for a state of emergency in diabetes care. Today, I return with the same cry, because for many of our members, things have become worse,” the DAN president stated.
Ugwu urged the minister to fast-track a National Diabetes Policy and Strategic Plan as part of a broader non-communicable disease prevention programme, with clear funding and timelines.
The diabetologist also called for the expansion of National Health Insurance Authority coverage, especially in rural communities, and the inclusion of blood glucose test strips in the insurance package.
He said access to diabetes care was almost non-existent in rural areas because of inadequate trained personnel, equipment and medicines.
The DAN president further asked the Federal Government to revive and increase the sugar-sweetened beverages tax, which it said was stopped in June 2024.
He proposed raising the tax from N10 to at least N200 per litre, with proceeds directed towards diabetes and non-communicable disease prevention.
Ugwu also called for a national non-communicable disease survey and the establishment of a National Diabetes Registry, saying the absence of reliable national data was affecting planning and policy decisions.
He said the government should strengthen primary healthcare centres nationwide by providing the personnel and equipment required to manage uncomplicated diabetes.
Explaining the consequences of inadequate diabetes care, the DAN president said poorly managed blood sugar could lead to stroke, heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, foot ulcers, amputations and premature death.
He further disclosed that 94 per cent of people living with diabetes had experienced at least one complication, while 80 per cent were diagnosed only after a complication had developed.
Ugwu said about 40 per cent of patients reported eye complications, while diabetes was among the top three causes of blindness in Nigeria.
The association’s president also said the condition was among the top three causes of kidney failure, accounting for about six in 10 patients on dialysis.
Ugwu stated in the letter that at least one in three stroke patients and one in two heart attack patients in teaching hospitals had diabetes.
He added that about 16.7 per cent of people living with diabetes developed foot ulcers, with one in three of those affected eventually undergoing amputation.
“In many teaching hospitals, at least one leg is amputated every week due to diabetes. Diabetes kills an estimated 30,000 Nigerians annually,” the association’s president stated.
Ugwu said the statistics represented the daily struggles of patients and families who could not afford the medicines and supplies needed to manage the condition.
“These are not just statistics. These are mothers rationing insulin, fathers skipping blood sugar tests for lack of strips, parents choosing between insulin and school fees for a child with type 1 diabetes, and workers presenting late with blindness, kidney failure or a foot to be amputated — complications that could have been prevented.
“No Nigerian should die because he or she is poor,” he said.
The association said it was ready to partner with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, noting that it had the national structure, patients, expertise and willingness to support efforts to improve diabetes care.
He, however, stressed that policy backing and adequate funding were needed to save lives on a wider scale.
“Let this not be another year of speeches while our members die quietly. Let this be the year the Federal Government acts decisively to make diabetes care affordable, accessible and available to every Nigerian, rich or poor, urban or rural,” Ugwu stated.
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