Nigerian doctors have raised the alarm over a sharp rise in the cost of insulin, warning that the medication, essential for survival for people living with Type 1 diabetes, has become increasingly out of reach for many young Nigerians. The concern was raised on Wednesday during the sixth Annual Ogun State Youth Diabetes Camp, organised by the Talabi Diabetes Centre in Abeokuta.
Fivefold Price Increase Strains Patients
Speaking at the event, the centre's Camp Coordinator, Dr Olubiyi Adeshina, said a vial of insulin that used to cost about ₦5,000 now sells for approximately ₦25,000, a fivefold increase that has placed a heavy financial burden on patients and their families. According to Adeshina, many patients require about two vials a month, bringing the total monthly cost of insulin alone to roughly ₦50,000, not including additional expenses such as blood glucose monitoring.
For people living with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune condition where the pancreas stops producing insulin entirely, the medication isn't optional. "All the days of their lives, at least three times a day, they will need to inject that insulin, or else the blood sugar goes excessively high," he said, warning that prolonged failure to access insulin can lead to dangerously high blood sugar, coma, and death.
Inflation and Cultural Misconceptions Compound Crisis
The centre's Acting Director, Dr Ayotunde Ale, echoed the concern, describing the price increase as a growing crisis compounded by inflation. "Insulin is very, very expensive. Now, with inflation and everything ongoing in society, a packet, a month's supply, now costs about ₦25,000 against ₦5,000 that we used to purchase insulin," she said. Beyond the cost burden, Ale also addressed a separate, deeply rooted challenge facing families of children with undiagnosed diabetes: cultural misconceptions that often prevent early testing.
She urged parents not to attribute unexplained childhood deaths to spiritual causes without first seeking medical screening. "All those children we call ogbanje, they die in their youth, and you don't know the cause. Don't call them ogbanje. Please, come for testing. Let's do screening for all these children," she said.
Call for Government Action and Support
Both doctors called on the Federal Government to introduce a dedicated policy and subsidy framework to make insulin more accessible for people living with Type 1 diabetes, particularly children and young adults. Ale further appealed to the National Assembly to address the broader challenges facing patients, warning that treatment costs could significantly affect their quality of life if left unaddressed. The Talabi Diabetes Centre currently stands as the only non-profit organisation in Nigeria dedicated specifically to primary diabetic care, and both doctors called for more NGOs and stakeholders to get involved in supporting people living with the condition.
