RIYADH: All the groups and organizations working in the field of diabetes should coordinate efforts in the fight against the disease, Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar said.
Speaking during the launch of the second conference on diabetes in a local hotel here on Thursday, he lauded the organizers and called for the establishment of a system to follow up on diabetes and prevent its spread.
“I commend the organizers for this conference which addresses a significant problem that affects us all. I hope similar conferences like this will also be organized,” he said.
He expressed the hope that “the zeal and enthusiasm of the conference organizers would rub off on others .”
Abdulaziz bin Saad Al-Hamidi, chairman of the Saudi Diabetes Association, thanked the governor for his support in the fight against diabetes.
He said that the disease spares nobody and afflicts both the young and the old alike. “Hence, they have a shared responsibility to help control the spread of the disease,” he said.
“There’s a need for a concerted and collective effort to control diabetes so that everyone should give something of himself and of his time for the cause of fighting the disease,” he said.
He said that there’s a need to help the patients overcome the psychological and social impact.
The conference, under the slogan “Diabetes and the school”, was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Department of Education and various groups and organizations.
A report said that in 2015, there were 3.4 million cases of diabetes in the Kingdom.
In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, there are about 35.4 million cases of diabetes and this is expected to reach 72.1 million by 2040. Worldwide, there are 415 million cases of diabetes.
Rodolfo C. Estimo, Jr - Arab News
