To improve health outcomes among Nigerians living with diabetes, experts at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have stressed the need for stronger diabetes prevention efforts and improved workplace support for people living with the condition.

To mark World Diabetes Day 2025, the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Unit (EDM) of LUTH, in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine, held a free diabetes screening alongside an awareness drive to educate the public on how to properly manage the condition, particularly in workplace settings.

Speaking during the event, Head of the EDM Unit, Professor Olufemi Fasanmade, said it was far more beneficial to prevent diabetes than to manage its complications. He noted that many workers living with diabetes continued to face stigma in their workplaces, causing them to conceal their health status from colleagues.

He explained that diabetes prevalence had been rising sharply across the country, noting that statistics showed about seven per cent of Nigerians were affected in 2024. According to him, projections indicate the figure could rise to 40 per cent over the next 30 years. He added that the disease had become a global burden, with an estimated 600 million people currently living with diabetes worldwide.

Fasanmade urged Nigerians to adopt balanced diets as part of broader preventive measures and added that he and his colleagues had proposed a sugar-sweetened beverage tax two years ago to discourage excessive consumption. He argued that people were more likely to choose water if it were cheaper than sugary drinks. According to him, the recommendation aimed to promote healthier choices and many consumers have continued to purchase soft drinks, thinking they were enjoying them, without realising that such choices were worsening their health.

Representing the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Lanre Adeyemo, Dr. Wale Bello, during the screening, explained that the programme aimed to educate patients and encourage workplaces to be more welcoming and non-discriminatory. He stressed that individuals living with diabetes should not be stigmatised or victimised.

Bello noted that diabetes occurs mostly among individuals aged 30 to 79, a group constituting much of the working population. He said this made diabetic workers more vulnerable to absenteeism, reduced productivity and lower efficiency.

He added that government involvement is essential to scale up awareness efforts, urging authorities to partner with companies, hospitals, and management bodies to reduce the rising burden of the disease. Beyond sweetened beverage taxes, he said the government should strengthen public enlightenment, collaborate with organisations such as the Diabetes Association of Nigeria and improve infrastructure for diabetes care.

Also speaking, Secretary-General of the EDM Unit, Dr. Oluwarotimi Olapade, highlighted the historical development of diabetes care and the inception of insulin in 1921. He noted that World Diabetes Day, marked globally on November 14, provides an important platform to educate the public on prevention and raise awareness among those living with the condition.