NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 – The City Council of Nairobi (CCN) plans to open 10 clinics to offer free medical treatment and advice to people suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
Nairobi Medical Officer of Health Robert Ayisi said on Friday that the initiative which will see clinics opened in Mathare North, Bahati, Jericho and Lunga Lunga follows findings that most people do not know they suffer from the ailments.
He stated that sensitisation programmes to be carried out in clinics situated in Ngaira, Kariobangi North and Pumwani will also be offered in a bid reduce complications arising from the emergence of the diabetes.
"The prevalence of these diseases has really increased of late and the studies that have been done in the slums have revealed this point," he stated.
"There is need for us to build on this since it is now becoming evident that this is no longer a disease of the affluent. It is also a disease of everybody and age does not matter since the young also have it," he said.
Speaking during a press conference, he emphasised the need for public-private partnership in the advancement of medical services and information about diabetes and hypertension.
"It is a problem and this problem is not in Lavington it is in slums. It is in Korogocho and everywhere," he pointed out. "We are hoping that in this partnership, together with my staff and colleagues here we shall be able to go a long way." he said.
Singling out the Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Mr Ayisi said pregnant mothers seeking medical treatment at the facility will have their blood sugar level tested during and after the gestation period and a follow-up made to determine whether they are diabetic.
He pointed out that the initiative will be the first one of its kind to be carried out in hospitals offering maternal services in the country.
"So we want to make sure that among the tests to be done on any mother coming to the hospital is the blood sugar and we will determine whether they have Hyper-Glycemia or high blood sugar when they are pregnant," he stated.
"Then we will see how to take care of this mother during pregnancy and after pregnancy to follow up and see whether they are diabetic. This is going to be a centre of its own within this country that is going to be doing this work," he added.
He further stressed the need for women taking the diabetic test especially during pregnancy.
"We have realised that mothers get high blood sugar levels when they are pregnant. When they are not pregnant, it goes low but these are people who later on become diabetic," he pointed out.
"We call that gestational diabetics and when they are in that condition, they tend to have very big babies. \’The Big baby Syndrome," and these are babies who are above four kilos which is a very big danger to these mothers," he explained.
About The Author
