RAYMOND OZOJI reports 


As the world commemorates the 2026 Global Hypertension Day, Anambra state commissioner for health Dr. Ben Afam Obidike has passionately advocated for regular medical checks and exercises to avoid the slump and die syndrome prevalent in the society nowadays. 


Obidike who made the advocacy at a media briefing in Awka to mark the World Hypertension Day, stressed that a lot of people do not know that they are hypertensive, diabetic or maybe suffering one medical condition ignorantly; that until people subjected themselves to routine medical checks, they would not know the state of their health. 


He said issues of kidney failures, heart failures, liver problems, stroke and some other chronic ailments could be diagnosed early and treated or managed properly, if the people take their health seriously and avoid lifestyles that could gradually destroy their sensitive organs without them knowing it. 


Obidike who was reappointed by Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo to serve again as the state commissioner for health, explained that hypertension is a silent killer. He said that Anambra was the first state in Nigeria to launch what he mentioned as Solution Know Your Number and Maintain Your Number. 


He said anybody can be a victim of high blood pressure but government, according to him, doesn't want anyone to face the complications of high blood pressure, adding that high blood pressure and diabetes are not treatable but can be managed through pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. 


According to the commissioner, diabetes can be managed through non-pharmacological methods like proper diets, frequent exercises and weight management, stressing that government wants to reduce incidences of cardiovascular diseases. 


Obidike equally informed that blood pressures are checked free of charge in all the primary and secondary healthcare facilities across the state. That on no account should anyone pay for such service because it is entirely free in government hospitals. 


He therefore thanked Governor Soludo for supporting and sponsoring the Solution Know Your Number and Maintain Your Number about three years ago, noting that the numbers being referred to are blood sugar, blood pressure, weight and cholesterol levels.


Mrs. Adaku Egoh, the programme coordinator of Non-Communicable Diseases of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health, while making few remarks noted that the aim of the commemoration of the global hypertension day was to create awareness about hypertension as a silent killer especially as a lot of people do not know their status. 


Mrs. Egoh explained that this year's programme provided opportunity for people to get screened free of charge and ascertain their status, emphasizing that the reason people slump and die is because they don't see the symptoms of hypertension and other related ailments. 


She however stated that when people know their status, they would take it seriously and adhere strictly to their medications as prescribed by a physician and also modify their lifestyles through regular exercises, reduction in salt consumption, avoiding tobacco as well as lessening alcohol intakes. 





##