Diabetes care in Nigeria: time for a paradigm shift

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is becoming a major public health problem in Africa and its burden is expected to increase. Persons with diabetes mellitus require continuing medical care and self-management education to prevent complications. In both developed and some resource-poor countries, the management of persons with diabetes has been undergoing rapid changes in order to improve standards of care, through restructuring of clinics or through the establishment of diabetes centres with a multidisciplinary team approach to care. There has been a progressive increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Nigeria and the burden is expected to increase even further. In view of the looming burden of diabetes in Nigeria, there is an urgent need to examine existing healthcare structures, revise the delivery process of healthcare programmes for persons with diabetes and effectively implement a process that facilitates accessibility to such programmes. Well-structured community-based care, appropriate to the local situation and resources, would provide for this, making it more accessible and realistic to the needs of persons with diabetes living in urban and rural areas of Nigeria. Various models have been adopted for the delivery of diabetes care. This article aims to highlight some of these various models of diabetes care. It concludes with a proposed model for the care of persons with diabetes mellitus in Nigeria.