…Urges healthy feeding, physical activity to drive down diabetes
By Luminous Jannamike
ABUJA – World Health Organisation, WHO, on Wednesday, warned
Nigerians against the misuse of antibiotics, saying it makes bacteria
infections harder to treat.
Essential drugs like antimalarials and antibiotics have become more
expensive in recent times as a result of the implementation of the 20
per cent duty tax on imported medicaments by the Federal government
Nnamdi Azikiwe Int’l Airport records 3.36m passengers in 9 months
WHO Officer in-Charge (Nigeria), Dr. Clement Peter, stated this at a
press conference organised in commemoration of the 2018 World
Antibiotics Awareness Week and Diabetes Day in Abuja.
According to him, patients should never demand nor share antibiotics,
and only use them when prescribed by certified healthcare
professionals.
He said: “Nothing less than global health security is at stake when
antibiotics are misused. From being miracle life-savers, antibiotics are
becoming ineffective against infections which can affect anyone, of any
age, in any country.”
Peter said the reasons for the rise in antibiotics resistance include
overprescribing, misuse by patience who don’t follow the advice of
healthcare professionals, overuse in farming, poor infection control,
and a lack of new antibiotics.
He said: “Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria become resistant
to the active ingredients in these medicines. These resistant bacteria
may infect humans, making infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis and
gonorrhea harder to treat,”
On the scourge of diabetes in the country, the WHO boss said
overweight and obesity were the strongest risk factors for the disease
in Nigeria.
He therefore urged families to buy and serve balanced diets,
encourage participation in physical activities and promote healthy
living environments as a way of controlling diabetes rather than being
controlled by the disease.
“I urge everyone to eat healthily, be physically active and avoid
excessive weight gain. Families can help drive down diabetes through
healthy lifestyles and supporting family members with diabetes. We all
have a role to play,” he concluded.
Comments
Post a Comment