Diabetes patients in Nigeria are demanding government action to address the poverty caused by the disease. They are calling for increased taxes on sugary beverages and affordable insulin.
The affected people placed five demands before the President, saying for a government that is striving to address poverty, the ripple effect of the disease on the means of livelihood of the over 11 million affected people and their defendants can only deepen poverty and should be of concern to the government.
Bernard Enyia, the Secretary of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, while presenting the demands on behalf of the patients during the commemoration of this year’s World Diabetes Day, themed, ‘Know your risk, know your response’ in Abuja on Tuesday said, besides the financial burden, the productivity of the patient and the caregivers are jeopardized with economic implication for all concerned. The patients are demanding that, “Tax sugary beverages at a rate that increases sugary drink prices by at least 20% of the retail price; “The cost of insulin has more than double
Diabetes Patients Demands Government Poverty Sugary Beverages Insulin