Abuja: An Abuja-based medical practitioner, Dr. Ikechukwu Orji, has revealed that 30 per cent of screened Kaba Community members in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are hypertensive. Orji, the Head of the Primary Health Care Department in the Kwali Area, made this disclosure during a free medical outreach he led to the Kaba Community in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, preliminary screenings in Kaba further indicated that 10 per cent of the community members had abnormal blood sugar readings, suggesting probable diabetes. The medical expert expressed concern over these findings, pointing out that the diabetes rate in the community is more than triple the national average of three per cent. Orji highlighted a pattern of high disease burden in other FCT communities, noting that Gariki Primary Health Care (PHC) reported 47 per cent hypertensive and 10 per cent diabetic statistics, while Kagini PHC recorded 40 per cent hypertensive and 14 per cent diabetic rates.
Dr. Orji emphasized the urgent need for action to address these health issues, particularly in Kaba, where diabetes rates have reached 10 per cent. He advocated for the adoption of the Federal Government's Task-Shifting and Task-Sharing (TSTS) policy to enhance healthcare delivery in rural communities amidst the rising prevalence of hypertension and diabetes. This policy allows non-physician healthcare workers to manage uncomplicated cases of these conditions under the supervision of doctors, aiming to reduce the burden on hospitals and improve access to healthcare in rural areas.
The Kaba screening is part of a pilot study to integrate diabetes treatment into PHCs, building on a successful hypertension pilot across 60 PHCs in the FCT. Dr. Orji described the project as a personal mission to assist underserved communities by bringing medical screenings closer to their doorsteps. He has been motivated by the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in primary health centres.
The initiative empowers community health workers, nurses, and Community Health Officers (CHOs) to manage hypertension and diabetes, with complicated cases being referred to doctors. As part of this pilot study, individuals diagnosed with diabetes will receive free initial treatment at the Kagini PHC, which serves the Kaba Community. Dr. Orji highlighted the importance of this project, referencing the Abuja Heart Study which found that most stroke cases in Nigeria originate from hypertension, followed by diabetes.
The project has received support from the AMAC Chairman, Mr. Christopher Maikalangu, academic partners, U.S.-based health providers, local volunteers, and traditional rulers, marking it as a collaborative effort. Mrs. Favour Samuel, a resident of the community, expressed her gratitude for the service, noting its potential to raise health awareness. Another resident, Mr. Charles Edo, was relieved to find his test results satisfactory.
The outreach, held at the palace of the Kaba chief, was well-received by traditional leaders and community members. Dr. Orji, formerly the Chief Medical Officer/Consultant with AMAC Primary Health Care Department, acknowledged the volunteers and participants for their contribution to the outreach effort. The Federal Government's TSTS policy, introduced in 2014 and updated in 2022, aims to address healthcare worker shortages by redistributing tasks from highly skilled to lower-cadre healthcare workers, further supporting initiatives like this outreach.