Diabetes in Nigeria

The 14th of November this year marks World Diabetes Day . This day is set aside by the United Nations and as well as serving to commemorate the birthday of Frederick Banting (the man who discovered insulin), the date is used to raise awareness of global diabetes .
World Diabetes Day this year runs under the slogan ‘ Understand Diabetes and Take Control’ and the 2009 theme is Diabetes Education and Prevention . The last few weeks have seen numerous diabetic news articles regarding diabetes in different countries around the world. The latest figures from the IDF indicate that 380 million people will have diabetes by 2025.
According to International Diabetes Federation warnings, the majority of new cases of type 2 diabetes will occur in the developing world, in countries like Nigeria in Africa. Type 2 diabetes prevalence can be explained by changing activity and diet patterns, urbanisation and erosion of traditional health practices.