Batswana die from preventable diseases-Medic
Chippa Legodimo | Monday August 11, 2014 14:47
Dr Marape Marape told The Monitor on Saturday at the launch of his clinic at Extension 2 in Gaborone that early detection of diseases such as diabetes, high blood pres- sure and cancer could save people from pain and heavy medical expenses.
“Most people see doctors as people you go to once you are ill, yet consulting a doctor before illness could save one the pain and financial strain. Obviously, trying to treat a disease is much more expensive than preventing it,” he said. He said his newly opened Marape and Marape Family Medical Clinic is focusing on prevention of diseases and public edu cation on lifestyle and nutrition. Marape is a trustee of First Health Foundation. He told The Monitor that his clinic would also put emphasis on research about the prevalence and distribution of diseases such as high blood pressure, blindness and diabetes.
“If you observe carefully, you will under- stand that people who often just collapse and die from heart attack would have carried the disease for a long time without knowing, hence it is very important for a person to do regular checks,” he said.
He said the decision to start such a clinic was borne out of the observation that a lot of focus among medical practitioners was on diseases such as AIDS. “Yes a lot of effort is needed to fight AIDS but a large section of the population has been left vulnerable to pain and death caused by heart attack, stroke, cancers, blindness and others,” Marape said.