Ajao Stephen
Renowned scholar in Cardiovascular Medicine at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Professor Adeseye Abiodun Akintunde, has called on the Nigerian government to establish a robust legal framework to guide and enhance cardiovascular care across the country.
Delivering the university’s 64th Inaugural Lecture titled “The Heart and Its Venomous Whispers of Disorders: Sieving the Wheat from the Chaff,” Professor Akintunde emphasized the urgent need for legislation and policies that support improved cardiovascular health.
He stressed the importance of integrating regular screening for cardiovascular risk factors, promoting dietary control, enforcing strict regulation of drugs and substances, banning smoking, regulating alcohol and energy drink consumption, controlling air pollution, and ensuring occupational safety. These, he noted, are essential preventive measures to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and promote a healthier population.
Professor Akintunde identified basic cardiovascular care as including the management of uncomplicated risk factors at primary healthcare centres, antenatal care, and HIV care. He urged the government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders to promote public education on cardiovascular disease prevention and protection.
He also advocated for the institutionalization of periodic, mandatory cardiovascular screening nationwide, urging adoption of the “Know Your Numbers” campaign. This initiative focuses on detecting hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes—conditions that account for 90% of cardiovascular risks in the population.
In addition, he called for the inclusion of cardiovascular care in the National Health Insurance Scheme, provision of subsidized drugs, and enhanced financing for CVD management. He proposed the establishment of six regional centres for open and closed-heart surgeries, supported by government sponsorship to ensure accessibility and professionalism.
To improve service delivery, Professor Akintunde recommended a task-sharing and task-shifting model, where non-physician health workers are trained and monitored to manage uncomplicated cardiovascular conditions.
Concluding his lecture, he called for increased funding for cardiovascular research, which, he said, holds the potential to develop breakthrough therapies for Africans suffering from heart diseases.
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