Mr. Sakzeesi, whose right leg has been amputated due to diabetes, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that he spent about GHS10,000 on such drugs when he was first diagnosed with the disease.

He said: "The danger inherent after becoming diabetic is that all types of drugs are thrown at you on social media, especially Facebook, with enticing promises. With the desperation in getting healed, you fall victim to such syndicates."

He added that sellers of those drugs claim that there were no side effects to such medicines, expressing the belief, however, that they could destroy patients' kidneys and other organs.

"It is a criminal syndicate; after contacting them, you have to spin a wheel to determine a supposed discount they will give you on the medicine," he said.

Mr Sakzeesi, on behalf of all diabetics in Ghana, expressed worry at the activities of such drug peddlers claiming to have solutions for chronic diseases, stressing that the FDA should crack down on them since they put their numbers on social media and could be easily traced.

Touching on the cost of medication for managing the disease, he said the price of diabetes medicines kept increasing over the years, making it expensive to manage the disease.
He stated that for instance, he spends a minimum of GHS250 a month on the drug he was put on by his doctors, adding that a box of glucose testing strips has moved from GHS50 to between GHS250 and GHS300 within four years.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to consider waiving some of the taxes on medications used for treating chronic disease to make them affordable for patients to manage their diseases and live longer irrespective of their illnesses.