The Mombasa Hospital observed the World Diabetes Day 2018 on Thursday with a free medical awareness camp with the aim of 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 is a global health event meant to bring awareness and support for people who have diabetes.
She 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’ declaring 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 is silent killer that can be well managed through medication and lifestyle changes.
She said diabetes is chronic condition characterized by high blood sugar caused by deficient insulin production in the body.
Ambitho said failure to keep lifestyles on check will see an increase in diabetes prevalence and said 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 is well beyond the reach of most families in Kenya yet she observed the condition can be easily avoided and managed.
Ambitho noted that going to the toilet a lot, being really thirsty and feeling more tired than usual are some of the sings and 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 will go along way in enhancing enriching lives.