No fewer than 114 in every 100,000 people in Nigeria have stroke, a professor of Nephrology at the National Hospital, Abuja, Prof Bwala Sunday, has said.
Prof Bwala was speaking on Tuesday during the 2019 World Stroke Day organized by the National Hospital in collaboration with Stroke Action and other partners with the theme, “When it comes to Stroke, Think Prevention: Don’t be the One.”
He said, at least, two to three people are virtually admitted every other day for stroke at the National Hospital, Abuja.
“The problem is big and staring everybody in the face. If you meet anybody, it is either he has a stroke, his or her relative has it or has meet with someone that has a stroke.”
He said although there was no national survey yet, survey from the teaching hospitals across the six geo-political zone of the country showed that the figures are appalling.
“Though, the statistics varied from State to State but observation in any medical ward in Nigeria revealed that stroke cases is quiet high with two to three people with stroke. You can imagine what is happening in private hospital, government hospital and some that may not even get to hospital before they die.”
He urged the government to increase funding to non-communicable diseases, adding that: “We know government cannot do it alone but they need to do more in fighting these diseases because it is the second killer diseases globally.”
