A professor of Family and Community Medicine, Professor Emmanuel Abioye-Kuteyi, has raised concerns that of all the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that claim lives, breast cancer has the highest death rate.
Professor Abioye-Kuteyi made observation on Tuesday while delivering a speech at the 291st Inaugural Lecture of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in Osun State, southwest Nigeria.
In the speech that centred on the “Population Health and Family Medicine; Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nigeria”, Professor Abioye-Kuteyi said that in 2012, 68% of all global deaths were from NCDs, 42% of which were premature or below the age of 70 years.
He told the gathering that about 74% of total and 82% of premature global NCDs deaths were from Low and Medium Income Countries of which Nigeria is one.
Change Of Eating Habits
“The WHO [World Health Organization] has estimated that 80% of heart and cardiovascular diseases, 90% of type-2 diabetes and 30% of all cancers can be prevented early by a change of eating habits, smoking cessation and increasing physician activities,” he stressed.
The professor of Family and Community Medicine further stated that “the 2012 Globocan Annual Cancer incidence estimates showed that the five commonest cancers in Nigeria were breast cancer (26.7%), cervix uteri cancer (13.8%), liver cancer (11.8%), prostate cancer (11.7%) and bowel cancer (6.0%) while the five top cancer deaths were from the breast (19.5%), liver (16.3%), prostate (13.5%), cervix uteri (11.5%) and bowel (9.1%)”.
With this alarming figures, Professor Abioye-Kuteyi said it simply meant Nigeria now has another serious health risk at its neck, since it has been battling with communicable diseases till now.
This to him means the time to recognise NCDs, as a nation’s priority, since it is presenting a global and national burden, with associated risk among all social classes of the society.
He said: “NCDs and associated risks are not the problem of only the affluent and later life. Most NCDs and its related premature deaths are largely preventable and the means to prevent and control NCDs are not only available, they are feasible and cost-effective.
“Only a combination of population-wide, family-focused and individuals’ intervention using cost-effective initiatives that strengthen the overall health system is capable of arresting and reversing the trend to reduce NCDs’ burden, improve population health outcomes, curtail expenditure and promote socioeconomic development”.
He, however, stressed the need for a national awakening to recognise the need for action, mount a commensurate national response, strengthen the national health system for appropriate response is overdue.
“The time to recognise NCDs as a national priority and take timely action is now” Professor Abioye-Kuteyi cautioned.