Pacific’s silent killer spreading, experts warn

Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea Post-Courier/PINA Nius Online) – Papua New Guinea has the second highest number of diabetes cases with 160,000 in the Western Pacific Region. And more than 90 per cent of these people are not aware of their diabetic status, president of the Diabetes Association of Papua New Guinea, Sister Emily Rageau said.

She was speaking at the launch of the association at the Parliament House by National Parliament Speaker and association patron Bernard Narokobi.

In some of our communities, the disease affects 10 to 40 people in every 100 adults. Many new cases when they are first diagnosed are already suffering from complications such as kidney, heart, eye diseases and others, she said.

Diabetes shortens the life span of communities especially when not discovered early and not well managed. Diabetes can be prevented or delayed by people living a healthy lifestyle. We need to utilize urgent matters such as diabetes awareness campaign to solve this emerging major health problem in our country.

Dr. Llyod Ipai, senior physician at the diabetes clinic, said diabetes was a major cause of disease, disability and death in the Pacific islands.

In PNG infectious diseases remain the number one cause of mortality and morbidity, and without decreasing this burden to an acceptable level, we are now experiencing a remarkable increase in diabetes, he said.

He said a study by Gary Dowse in 1991 of the Koki Wanigela people found a prevalence of type II diabetes at 27.5 per cent in men and 33 per cent in women.

An additional 21 per cent of men and 22 per cent of women had impaired glucose tolerance test. These figures had doubled from 1977 figures. In fact, this study revealed that the urbanized Koki Wanigelas face the world’s third highest recorded prevalence of type II diabetes after Pima Indians and Nauruans. Type II diabetes is now becoming an epidemic in many parts of PNG, Dr. Ipai said.

The association has identified five fundraising avenues. It would meet four of these while the diabetic education program would need donations from all.. Training has also been established in Sydney for diabetic nurse educators, IDF membership training in Thailand and diabetic declaration in Malaysia, in which PNG was a signatory. It has also given lectures in Port Moresby General Hospital on the work of diabetes nurses and attended indigenous meeting in New Zealand.

According to Dr. Ipai, the long-term goal is to one day establish a diabetic center with associated manpower and resources.

He said diabetes was not easy to manage, had severe complications, with poor records, lack of focus, lack of patient understanding of the seriousness of the disease and lack of information on the disease.