Is HbA 1c testing in Nigeria only for the rich

Results number of 967 patients were seen in the Diabetes Clinic during the course of the study; 409 were males and 558 females. Out of the 967 patients seen, 237 (24%) were able to do the test; 119 (50%) of these were males and 118 (50%) were females. All the patients had type 2 diabetes. Of the total clinic population over this period, 119 (29%) males did the test, as did 118 (21%) females. The overall mean HbA1c was 7.9±2.4%. Discussionvast majority of patients (75%) were not able to do the test, principally due to cost issues as most of them have to pay out of pocket for their health needs, which include multiple medications and testing. In the absence of health insurance, this is financially burdensome. A sig nificant majority of Nigerians are currently economically disadvantaged; this fact has been shown worldwide to put such individuals at a disadvantage health-wise. A lot of these patients have to choose between using the available money to buy medications or to do laboratory tests. They usually choose the former. Urgent steps need to be taken to reduce the cost of the test and make health insurance more available in order to reduce the risk of development of life threatening complications of diabetes in individuals with diabetes in Nigeria.