Diabetics die due to lack of drugs: Association

By The Standard and Newsday | Mar. 7, 2022 | 2 Min read

“Many members of the Zimbabwe Diabetes Association (ZDA) have died during the COVID-19 lockdown due to shortages of medication and inadequate food. People go to hospitals every month to collect medication and it’s always unavailable,” Moyo said.

BY PRESTIGE MUNTANGA

MANY diabetes patients are said to have died during the COVID-19 lockdown period due to lack of access to drugs.

This was said by Bulawayo Diabetes Association (BDA) chairperson Violet Moyo at a workshop in Bulawayo at the weekend.

“There are times when there won’t be medication such as Insulin and Methionine, which are the major drugs. When people no longer have access to Insulin, it means that they end up dying.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown period, half of our members died. Over 20 members of the Bulawayo Diabetes Association died as a result of shortages of medication and food. People living with sugar diabetes need to eat frequently, but in Zimbabwe, we don’t afford to buy enough food.”

Moyo said people with diabetes were now only working to buy medication.

“We have approached many ministers to address the issue, but nothing has been done. The government has been neglecting us,” she said.

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Former Bulawayo public prosecutor and DBA member, Patrobs Dube said due to inadequate medication, his situation worsened resulting in him becoming partially blind.

“I have been living with sugar diabetes for more than 10 years. I was diagnosed with regional detachment, a condition that has made me blind. I was supposed to raise US$7 000 for the operation. But because of many challenges, I only managed to raise the money last year and it was too late because my eyes were already damaged,” Dube said.

He urged people with the condition to constantly go for medical check-up.