World Diabetes Day: Raising awareness among pupils at Collège Protestant de Lomé Tokoin

---

Extract from the article: As part of the celebrations for World Diabetes Day, the Collège Protestant de Lomé Tokoin was the scene on 10 November 2023 of an ambitious educational action aimed at educating pupils about diabetes and promoting good habits for a healthy life...

---

As part of the celebrations for World Diabetes Day, the Collège Protestant de Lomé Tokoin was the scene on 10 November 2023 of an ambitious educational action aimed at educating pupils about diabetes and promoting good habits for a healthy life. The event was organised by Sante-Education with the invaluable collaboration of the Evangelical and Presbyterian Church of Togo (EEPT).

More than 1,000 pupils (girls and boys) and teachers took part in the awareness-raising messages delivered by three (03) experts: Dr Damien Kouvahey on diabetes: causes, factors and prevention through sport; Mathieu Tobossi, a doctoral student in food hygiene, on diet to avoid and treat diabetes and overweight/obesity; and Dr Bessanh Komlan on diet for health, well-being and success. 

 

According to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), some 537 million adults worldwide are currently living with diabetes, i.e. one adult in 15. This situation is all the more worrying in Africa, where the lack of information and access to appropriate care is exacerbating the situation. In Togo, the situation is worrying, with a prevalence of diabetes of at least 8.3% according to 2015 WHO data. Risk factors, such as the prevalence of overweight, which affects more than 19% of the population, are also alarming.  Prevention and awareness-raising must be at the heart of the actions undertaken. With this in mind, Santé-Éducation is launching an educational campaign targeting pupils at the Collège Protestant de Lomé Tokoin. The aim is to give pupils a better understanding of diabetes, so that they can take preventive action.

"Today, as a prelude to World Diabetes Day, which is celebrated every 14 November, we have organised this awareness-raising day for our children, the pupils of the Protestant College of Lomé Tokoin.  We need to take the fight against diabetes to the grass roots. Children need to be educated about this disease", said Mignake Basile, Director General of Sante-Education.

The awareness-raising session was well received by the school's staff. "We are delighted to have welcomed this initiative into our institution. It's a blessing for us. We all know that diabetes is a disease caused by a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. That's why this session has been so beneficial for our pupils and teachers. We need a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle to prevent diabetes", said Mrs Atitso Dogba, Principal of Collège Protestant de Lomé - Tokoin.

 

For Dr Damien Kouvahey, Director of the NGO VISA, one of the speakers, it is vital that everyone now knows what diabetes is."I welcome this initiative by Santé-Education.If we could talk to children about what they can do to maintain their health and prevent diabetes, we could prevent fewer diabetics in the future.The main message we gave them was to reduce the consumption of foods with too much salt and too much sugar.It's essential that all pupils take part in sport.We often notice that some pupils are excused from practising sport. No! No excuses. All pupils need to exercise, whether they are asthmatic, obese or overweight. It's this kind of advice that can help in the early fight against diabetes", he added. 

For Mathieu Tobossi, Director of NFS-Togo, it is important that schoolchildren adopt a healthy and balanced diet. To achieve this, they need to focus on vegetables, fruit and pulses.

As for the third speaker, Komlan Bessanh, Managing Director of Champiso, good nutrition is the key to the health, well-being and success of pupils. Pupils need to avoid skipping one of the 3 meals of the day, which has an impact on weight gain, snacking between meals, and taking excessive amounts of sugary drinks between meals.

Raymond DZAKPATA