Up to 20,000 diabetic patients in Cross River state have benefitted from the Senator John Owan Enoh’s Foundation (JOEF) on diabetes, Blueprint has gathered.
In an interview in Calabar, shortly after a four-kilometer walk, tagged ‘Let’s walk diabetes out of our lives,’ Monday, the Chief Executive officer of the Foundation, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the Foundation, which started in 2016, has created awareness on how best to tackle the menace.
He said apart from creating awareness and conducting free medical test on diabetes from one political ward to another mainly in the central senatorial zone of the state where the foundation started, JOEF also gave out cash to patients to procure drugs like insulin.
“Reports say about six million Nigerians are suffering from diabetes. To me, that figure is understated. I say so because of the huge number our foundation has had encounter with.
“Diabetes is one of the silent killer diseases in the world today. Its patients are most vulnerable group of people to contract COVID 19. That was why at the heat of the COVID 19 pandemic last year, we promptly intervened with awareness, tests and finances for them to buy drugs,” he stated.
When asked on how many have benefited from the gesture, the Senator said, “at least, 20,000 have so far benefited. As I said earlier, we conduct free medical test, go from place, ward by ward creating awareness.
“Most of the patients are identified through the free test we conduct. We conduct test every Monday in all our offices and we also organise seminars every month. Where cases are identified, we provide fund for treatment.
“This is my own little way of ensuring a healthy society in general and ensuring a sustained fight against diabetes. We believe that in the next few years, enough awareness would have been created and a greater percentage of our people would have taken steps to avoid the disease.
“This is the first time we are carrying out the campaign in Calabar. Our vision is to do this across the three senatorial zones of the state as long as God gives us the enablement.”
