UAE ON FRONTLINE OF WORLD WAR ON DIABETES

Diabetes is an ailment that is irreversible and the UAE is seeing an increasing number of population living with it.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention will observe by organising several awareness campaigns that include sugar tests, distribution of leaflets, health consultations and seminars on the importance of healthy lifestyles. Here are the some key numbers that explain the gravity of the disease worldwide.

Diabetes remains one of the biggest health challenges in the world. Every year on November 14, World Diabetes Day (WDD) is marked to raise awareness about the increasing complexities of the health condition that has even been linked to kidney complications, obesity and heart diseases by various studies.

Figures from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) revealed that, in 2017, 17.3 per cent of the UAE population between the ages of 20 and 79 have type 2 diabetes. Rapid economic growth, sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets are all risk factors, leading to the number of people with diabetes expected to double to 2.2 million by 2040.

In 2020, World Diabetes Day aims to promote the role of nurses, currently accounting for over half of the global health workforce, in the prevention and management of diabetes.

In marking the WDD, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) highlights the UAE health policy on promoting the role of nurses in the prevention and management of diabetes. MoHAP is marking the day by organising several awareness-raising activities in the medical districts to enhance community awareness.

MoHAP’s Health Education & Promotion Department explains that the activities include medical examinations, handing out awareness leaflets, health consultations, displaying awareness videos and educating on the importance of permanent monitoring of blood sugar.