Houghton company addresses on Covid-19 and diabetes – a collision of pandemics
HOUGHTON – The team from the Centre of Diabetes and Endocrinology Academy, in Houghton has encouraged residents to attend their upcoming diabetes-themed seminar.
Diabetes has been referred to as a pandemic in its own right.
Statistics by the team from the Centre of Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) Academy, in Houghton, show that 4.2 million people died from diabetes in 2020 (greater than the number of people killed by Covid-19 in the same period). The report, issued by the World Economic Forum, stated that over 460 million people were now living with diabetes.
CDE Academy head Michael Brown explained that the pandemic period had been a testing time for the organisation. “We had to rise to the educational challenges for diabetes care [made worse by Covid-19] by taking all our contact activities online.”
He added that the pandemic had been a source of much fear for people living with diabetes and that he and his team had many concerns voiced to them by this community.
He said a number of their clients with diabetes were unwilling to leave their homes during the pandemic period. “However, while greatly reducing their risk of Covid-19 infection, they run the risk of social isolation and resultant emotional distress. Additionally, as a result of the pandemic, many have not wanted to attend vital preventative appointments with their diabetes team, or to fetch chronic medication, putting them at risk.”
He said that job losses and a massive rise in personal debt had also affected people’s access to medical aid funding and healthcare services (in the private sector). “People who use public health services are often scared to use these because of Covid-19 infection risks.”
CDE Academy registered dieticians Mandy Bernstein and Liana Grobbelaar said they had noticed how many people were living with fear as a result of the pandemic, also as a result of the media highlighting the greater risk of worse outcomes for people with diabetes as a result of Covid-19.
Brown said he believes that with the right preventative steps, one can weather both pandemics and still live an abundant life. He will speak at the upcoming ‘Everything diabetes’ free online community outreach event, hosted by the CDE Academy, on November 11, 18:00 to 21:00.
Details: www.cdeoutreach.org
ALSO READ:
