By Chinenye Anuforo
Roche Diabetes Care (DC) Nigeria has disclosed plans to create a platform for education and mentoring of healthcare practitioners across Nigeria to uplift the standard of diabetes care in the country.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, diabetes has a prevalence of 3.7% in Nigeria, affecting around 3.6 million people and is on the rise. Effective diabetes management remains a pressing concern in the country, with a rising burden of diabetes complications and deaths and significant strain on public health systems already under considerable pressure. Low instances of blood glucose monitoring and the lack of an integrated, personalised diabetes management (iPDM) framework are substantial barriers to addressing the burden. Acknowledging these gaps, the Roche Diabetes Care (DC) team has introduced a Healthcare Professional (HCP) Mentorship Programme – a capacity-building initiative specifically targeting diabetes management1,2.
The three-month healthcare professionals (HCP) training initiative named the “Healthcare Practitioner in Diabetes Mentorship Programme” was launched across five cities in Nigeria including Kaduna, Jos, Ibadan, Benin and Lagos.
Tosin Akinsulire, Product Manager at Roche Diabetes Care explained that, “Nigeria has an alarmingly low frequency of blood glucose monitoring among people with diabetes. One of the primary reasons for this issue is the reliance on in-clinic blood glucose values for assessment, which is not sufficient to achieve better outcomes for patients on a broader scale. Low awareness among doctors and nurses about the importance of routine blood glucose testing, low self-monitoring among patients, the pain associated with pricking and the economic burden of frequent monitoring.
Roche is committed to improve access to diabetes care in the communities it operates in. Our aim is to address these issues by empowering more healthcare professionals to enhance patient outcomes and embrace integrated personalised diabetes management approaches through education and mentorship.”
Akinsulire concluded the initiative is an excellent example of collaboration between key stakeholders within the healthcare system of Nigeria. “To consistently improve patient care, we will continue collaborating with each other, our partners, governments, and patients.”
The Roche Diabetes HCP Mentorship Programme focuses on long-term capacity building through increased investment in research and development, ultimately working towards improving lives – today and for future generations. The program will provide a platform to seasoned experts and mentors, including Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, considered as the grandfather of diabetes in Nigeria!, to conduct interactive sessions and share their experiences, discuss real-local data, and provide practical guidance. The aim is to train 350 HCPs and raise 200 advocates. This diverse group includes general practitioners, residents, senior registrars, endocrinologists, nurses and pharmacists from tertiary and secondary hospitals.
The programme has shown positive results, with 263 healthcare practitioners across 63 hospitals completing training sessions in the five targeted cities.
Olufemi Fasanmade, Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos added that, “The education and mentoring provided in this programme will create great value for the HCP community in Nigeria by facilitating the sharing of experience, data-driven insights, practical perspectives and knowledge transfer from experienced experts to younger professionals. This will equip us as healthcare providers with the skills and understanding we need to implement personalised diabetes care effectively – for the good of more patients in Nigeria and beyond.”
The HCP Mentorship Programme is a pivotal stride towards improving access to care by revolutionising diabetes management in Nigeria, effectively bridging gaps, elevating patient outcomes and standardising integrated diabetes care throughout the nation. Together, we can bring true relief to people with diabetes.”