The Ministry of Health has opened a special diabetes center in Masaka regional referral hospital to deal with increasing cases of diabetes in the region.
The Health Ministry has also deployed 10 health consultants headed by Dr. James Ssekajugo, the Programme Manager Non Communicable Disease Prevention and Control officer in the Ministry of Health to diagnose diabetes patients.
Dr. Asuman Lukwaago, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Health opened the center on Wednesday and deployed experts to investigate the cause of diabetes among children. He said the Ministry decided to open up the diabetes screening center to diagnose and sensitize parents about the increasing cases of type 1 Diabetes in children.
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Dr. Florence Tugumisirize, the Masaka Hospital Director says they have five diabetic patients who are going to lose their feet because they were diagnosed late.
According to Tugumisirize, the hospital has admitted over 10 children suffering from diabetes. She says diabetes has become a crisis in the region because many parents are still unaware about its existence among children.
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Dr. James Ssekajugo, who heads the consultants, says diabetes in children presents symptoms such as scratching of their privates parts, overdrinking water. He says the consequences of diabetes are disastrous and they include concentration of sugars in the blood which creates syrup- like appearance in the blood vessels.
Ssekajugo therefore says the center will be used to coordinate the campaign against diabetes in the region to minimize deaths.
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Swaibu Sulambaaya, the Chairperson Masaka Diabetes association explains that many diabetic patients are suffering without specialized medical care and many of them have abandoned medication because of lack of close supervision.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to more than double by 2030 if there is no intervention.
According to WHO, in type 2 diabetes, the hormones is produced and is there but there is resistance at the cells level. When the insulin tries to store the sugar in the cells, there is resistance.
This type affects adults but it can also affect children. Type 1 account for about 8% of the total number of patients with diabetes. Type 2, or adult onset diabetes, particularly affects overweight people.
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