MEMBERS of Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Kwara State chapter have urged the Federal Government to consider introduction of a welfare scheme for patients of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in Nigeria.

Chairman of the ACPN in the state, Babatunde Samuel said the sudden rise in the number of those suffering from the disease in the country necessitated the need for some sort of financial aid, "especially for indigent patients."

Samuel said, "Many of the patients of this disease don't have the money to carry out the periodic required medical tests. In fact, many of them confessed to us that the last time they ever carried out such test was about a year ago due to financial constraints.

"We will therefore urge the Federal Government to subsidise the cost of conducting this tests in all its hospitals across the nation. Besides, we also appeal to well-endowed Nigerians to set up endowment funds for the management of DM cases in Nigeria."

The local ACPN members carried out free diabetes tests for about 1,000 people across the state as part of their contributions for this year World Diabetes Day. The exercise also involved counselling and creation of awareness for the public on how to avoid, detect and treat the disease.

Besides, the pharmacists established 18 designated centres for the exercise within Ilorin metropolis and each of the centres screened at least 50 patients. Some of the centres include the ones at Gaa Akanbi, Lanjorin, and Ibrahim Taiwo Road.

According to the ACPN leader, "We observe that the cases of DM are increasing here in Ilorin. The results elsewhere equally tallied with ours here. The disease is most common endocrine disorder in the world and characterised by impairment in glucose metabolism. Many people have DM but do not know. But if left untreated, it can lead to organ damage and even blindness.