Back
3 August 2018

The Honorable Minister of Health, Professor Isaac F. Adewole, inaugurated an 11-person steering committee for the Diabetes Awareness and Care project, on July 31st, 2018 at the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja.

The World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) funded Diabetes Awareness and Care (DAC) project led by the Federal Ministry of Health’s Non-Communicable Diseases division, in partnership with the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), aims to improve awareness and care on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in two states in Nigeria (Imo State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)).

During the inauguration, the Honorable Minister of Health stated that the timing of the project was auspicious and in line with the 2018 Global focus on combatting Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). He acknowledged the burden of diabetes in Nigeria, which he termed the “silent killer”, stating that a vast majority of the population remains undiagnosed until they require hospital visits necessitated by complications. He commended the FMOH NCD division and HSDF on the new project and reiterated the need for the project to be focused on outcomes and results, not just inputs.

He encouraged the FMOH NCD division to take active ownership of the project, acknowledged previous successful partnerships with HSDF, and expressed his confidence that this sound and collaborative partnership would achieve the project goals.