Mombasa Hospital observed the World Diabetes Day 2018 on Thursday with a free medical awareness camp that aimed at increasing education on diabetes.
The Hospital’s Director of Nursing, Selina Ambitho said they hosted the annual event to offer education and provide resources to the residents of the Coastal city.
She said world diabetes day was a global health event meant to bring awareness and support for diabetes patients.
Ambitho said the purpose of the camp was to create awareness about the importance of monitoring diabetes on a regular basis.
The medic said the theme for world diabetes day 2018 and 2019 is ‘The family and diabetes’, adding that awareness is the first step in challenging the battle against diabetes.
“We consider the annual free medical checkups as our way of giving back to the society,” she said during the interview pointing out that diabetes was a silent killer that could be well managed through medication and lifestyle changes.
She said diabetes was a chronic condition characterized by high blood sugar caused by deficient insulin production in the body.
Ambitho said failure to keep lifestyles on check would see an increase in diabetes prevalence adding education and prevention were vital in helping stem the alarming growth of diabetes in the country.
She noted the cost of caring for a family member who has diabetes was well beyond the reach of most families in Kenya yet the condition could be easily avoided and managed.
Ambitho noted that going to the toilet a lot, being too thirsty and feeling more tired than usual were some of the symptoms of the disease.
Hashim Wamutitu and Dinah Aseyo who were among residents who turned up for the free medical checkup thanked the hospital for the initiative, noting that it would go a long way in enhancing lives.
By Hussein Abdullahi
