$54mn invested to cut rate of diabetes in Kuwait in ’17

Soud Al-Babtain institute to hold confab

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 13, (KUNA): Ahead of the celebrations of the World Diabetes Day on November 14, Kuwait revealed Monday that it had invested a sum of KD 18 million (about $54 million) in diabetes medicine in 2017 to bring down diabetes rates in Kuwait, which reached 20 percent this year.

Speaking on the issue, Undersecretary at the Health Ministry Dr Yousef AlDowairi said that the current budget for diabetes medicine was an increase from last year’s KD 16 million (about $48 million), indicating that this year’s increase was an alarming development in which the ministry was trying to contain.

The ministry had launched several national programs to spread awareness over the dangers of diabetes and means to prevent people from acquiring the disease, said Dr Al-Dowairi.

The main factor behind the spread of diabetes is the unhealthy lifestyles and lack of physical exercise amongst the populace living in Kuwait, said the medical official.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry spokesman Dr Ahmad Al-Shatti revealed that diabetes had become a growing problem for children under 15 in Kuwait, indicating that 34 out 100,000 individuals suffered from the ailment as oppose to the previous number of five.

Through the health cities initiative, Kuwait is willing to fight back against the disease through various means and hopefully the numbers will decrease in the near future, said Dr Al-Shatti.

On alternative methods to deal with diabetes other than medication, specialist at Mubarak Hospital Dr Salma Khuraibt said that bypass surgeries and similar procedures proved successful in lowering sugar levels in the body.

She warned that these operations should be the last resort for those unable to bring down their sugar levels, affirming that pursuing healthy lifestyles and regular exercise are the best solutions to combat diabetes.

Soud Al-Babtain Cultural Institute will organize an international conference on the culture of peace for security of future generations at Rome University in Italy on Wednesday, Nov 22 at the inauguration of Al-Abdulaziz Soud Babtain Chair, reports Al-Anba daily.

Several outstanding figures, including chairman of the UN general assembly or his representative, deputy spokesman of the European Parliament, former Portuguese President George Sampaio, Chairman of the International Institute for Peace Teri Larson, the Tunisian Foreign Minister Khamis Al-Juhainawi, former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini and others.