Kenyans have been called upon to prioritize regular medical check-ups, particularly for diabetes, as part of the broader fight against the country’s rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
Speaking during an interview, Agnes Limo, Vilcom Networks CEO emphasized the importance of early screening and routine health monitoring to promote a healthy life.
“Diabetes often goes undetected until it’s too late. We urge Kenyans to prioritize their health by going for routine medical check-ups. Awareness is the first step in prevention,” Limo said.
She noted that Kenyans cannot continue to ignore the rising burden of lifestyle diseases urging that focus need to be more on the prevention rather than the treatment.
“We cannot ignore the rising burden of lifestyle diseases. Public awareness campaigns like these are necessary to shift focus from treatment to prevention,” she added.
Speaking at the same event, Fridah Wanza, the Marketing Manager, said Vilcom was committed to supporting national health campaigns through active corporate Social responsibility participation and advocacy.
“As a company, we recognize that strong communities start with healthy people and hat is hy e are pushing for proper screening ,” Wanza said.
She added that many people unknowingly live with diabetes and urged the public to make health screenings a regular part of their lives.
“We are encouraging Kenyans to adopt routine screenings to improve their quality of life and avoid preventable health crises,” she said.
According to a report, on a global scale, over 14 million people between the ages of 30 and 70 die every year from NCDs and 85pc of these deaths are in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) where a majority of the world’s population live.
The human and economic burdens of NCDs, especially in LMICs, are not sustainable and they are a threat to development.
In Kenya, NCDs contribute to over 50pc of inpatient admissions and 40pc of hospital deaths and so NCDs consume a substantial proportion of the health-care budget taking away funds from other development needs.
The 2013 out-of-pocket health expenditure in Kenya was about 45pc of the total expenditure on health.
