Nimako, — The Ministry of Health has launched the National Diabetes Guidelines to serve as a roadmap for healthcare professionals to outline best practices and evidence-based approaches to the management of diabetes.

Addressing participants at the launch on Tuesday in Accra, the Minister for Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, stated, "The Ministry of Health is seeking innovative ways to reduce exposure to risk factors that contribute to diabetes and NCDs."

He commended the health professionals, technical experts and researchers who contributed to the development of the guidelines and called for individual's commitment to raise awareness, dispel myths and seek early diagnosis of diabetes.

On his part, the Vice President of the Diabetes Endocrine and Metabolic Society of Ghana and Project Coordinator, Prof Ernest Yorke, indicated that the guidelines would bridge gaps in diabetes management, regularise diabetes protocols and make best practices available to specialist practitioners who manage patients across Ghana.

Research indicates that diabetes is a growing global health concern and the prevalence of this chronic condition has been steadily rising, affecting millions of individuals and families worldwide. In Ghana, the situation is no different with an estimated 2.6% -9% per annum; that is an average of 200,000 cases of diabetes reported to health facilities annually.

It is expected that diabetes care will improve with the development and implementation of a national guideline which will ultimately reduce complications, morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes.