Dr Babajide Saheed, Chairman, Medical Guild in Lagos State, has called on the three tiers of government to look critically at the nation’s economic policies to reduce tension in Nigeria.
Saheed sais on Tuesday in Lagos that “if economy is good, tension will reduce, depression will reduce and blood pressure will also reduce’’.
He spoke in commemoration of the 2019 World Stroke Day celebrated globally on Oct. 29, with the theme: “Don’t Be the One’’.
The World Stroke Day aims at encouraging people to understand stroke risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high blood cholesterol.
The campaign promotes healthy living and discloses ways to recognise the warning signs of stroke as well as preventive actions to take.
According to the World Stroke Organisation, one in four persons will have stroke in their lifetime.
Saheed said an all-encompassing approach that would address challenges in the nation’s health, economy and environment would assist in reducing the prevalence of stroke cases.
“Anyone is susceptible to stroke because of the stress induced by our environment, traffic, job insecurity issues, economy, infrastructure and security challenges.
“The issue of the economy is very important; if economy is good, tension will reduce, depression will reduce and blood pressure will also reduce.
“We advise people to eat healthy, but it takes money to eat healthy.
“This is why it is very crucial for the government to look at the economic policies that will reduce tension,’’ he said.
Saheed stressed that stroke could be prevented through early diagnosis and routine checkup, saying an effective primary healthcare system was also key to addressing the problem.
“If there is a primary healthcare centre in each ward, not just in local government areas, everyone will go there before they visit the General Hospitals.
“People should have access to affordable, accessible and quality healthcare to enhance early detection of stroke,’’ the chairman said.
He stressed the need to intensify efforts at achieving Universal Health Coverage through effective implementation of health insurance scheme.
Saheed called for review of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), saying it was unfortunate that it had been operational for over 12 years, but could only achieved five per cent universal coverage.
He said stroke was one of the leading causes of death in the world after road accidents, stressing that prevention was better than cure.
According to him, people from 45 years upward are said to have high risk of stroke, saying that recent incidents show that younger people of 28 years to 35 years battle with stroke issues.
“It is a concern to us because many young doctors are also affected too,’’ the guild chairman said.
