The initiative, known as iCARE, will support Nigeria's efforts to control diabetes, provide holistic diabetic care, and facilitate insulin access to the most vulnerable patient groups in Nigeria, said the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in remarks made during the ceremony marking this year's World Diabetes Day yesterday in Abuja.
He claimed that through its changing diabetes in children programme, iCARE aimed to provide 12,000 patients with affordable insulin and make sure that no child died from type 1 diabetes. Represented by the Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama, Ehanire said the government was committed to providing leadership for the control and prevention of non-communicable diseases by strategically pursuing the elimination of risk factors, improving access to clinical care for the diseases, as well as preventing their complications.
He said it would also help tackle the disease burden in rural areas.