Ecobank Group shows its commitment towards better health

THE leading pan-African banking group, the Ecobank Group recently celebrated its eighth annual Ecobank Day, which is the Group’s flagship annual event, showing commitment and giving back to its local communities across 33 African countries.

This year’s theme is ‘Take Action Against Diabetes’ and it marks the second stage of a three-year campaign to raise awareness and help prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Ecobank has therefore partnered with the NCD Alliance, a Geneva-based global civil network dedicated to preventing NCDs all around the world.

Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group chief executive said diabetes and other non-communicable diseases were on the rise across Africa. Diabetes causes serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves and if not addressed quickly, untimely death.

“Approximately 60 percent of Africans with Diabetes are unaware that they have it and at Ecobank, we are determined to raise awareness about the disease and other NCDs, as well as the importance of healthy lifestyles in preventing these diseases. We are working closely with the NCD Alliance to ensure that our three-year campaign has maximum impact in helping to save African lives,” Ayeyemi said.

On her part, Katie Dain, NCD Alliance CEO, said it was interesting to see such leadership from a bank, in raising awareness of diabetes and other NCDs amongst its employees and communities. Effectively addressing NCDs will require collaboration across all sectors, which is why we are very happy about our partnership with Ecobank.

“We look forward to drawing upon their expertise in financial management to train NCD civil society advocates across the African continent,” she said.

Planned activities aimed at raising awareness about diabetes, include informational webinars and controlled screening in strict adherence to measures outlined by various governments to combat the spread of Covid-19.

2020 Ecobank Day events are being held virtually, to ensure safety from Covid-19, and include a ‘Take Action Against Diabetes’ campaign on social media to assist and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Ecobank Day is an annual event which commenced in 2013 and some of the past initiatives focused on support for orphanages, safe water management, maternal health and malaria prevention.