Lagos PHC laments shortage of test strips two days into free diabetes screening

Lagos State Government’s plan to provide free diabetes and hypertension screening and checkups for 800,000 residents may suffer a huge setback as one of the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), yesterday, said that kits for conducting the test had been exhausted.

The non-availability of the test strips is coming just two days into the one-week exercise.

Surprisingly, the health centre, which is one of the PHCs in the state, claimed the test strips would not be available again for the week, asking a reporter to come back on Monday by which time the free screening would have ended except the government extends the timeline.

The campaign, tagged: “Know Your Numbers, Control Your Numbers,” which started on Monday, October 28, 2024, and is expected to end on Sunday, November 3, 2024, will provide free screenings for blood pressure and blood sugar across all local councils in the state, to screen 800,000 Lagosians within the one-week window, as part of the Lagos quota of the 10 million Nigeria project.

When The Guardian visited Agboju Primary Healthcare Centre in Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of AmuwoOdofin Local Council at 12:36 p.m., yesterday, to verify the claim of the state government of providing free screenings for diabetes, obesity and hypertension, a nurse said that the test strips had finished and would be available on Monday.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, during a media briefing to announce the week-long programme, said: “This campaign represents a powerful effort in the fight against hypertension and diabetes, which often go undiagnosed until severe complications arise.”