RIYADH: Health ministries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) need the help of fellow government agencies to deal with the growing problem of diabetes in the country, including programs to improve eating habits and involvement in sport for males and females.
This is the view of Tawfiq Khoja, director general of the GCC health ministers’ executive board, who said education, commerce and other bodies have to make an input. Khoja made the comments during the Trina Health 2016 conference on Thursday under the sponsorship of Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, which looked at treatment for the disease.
He said a recent study showed that poor lifestyle choices have resulted in a 25 percent rise in diabetes in the Kingdom from 2014 to 2015, to almost 3.4 million people. Part of the problem is too much sugar intake. People should reduce their consumption and recognize that sugar is found in many food products. He said school sports should be encouraged. “Investing in the youth is also an investment for the future. There should be sports activities for girls in accordance with Islamic law to help them avoid being diabetic,” he said.
Khoja said there was a lack of expertise at health centers.
“Only 5 to 7 percent of diabetic patients seek medical care at health centers. This is because these health centers are reeling from the lack of family doctors or community specialists for the treatment of diabetes,” he said. Talking about his center’s treatment, Gilbert Ford, Trina Health Center head, said that proper intervention can stop and even reverse the devastating complications of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Trina treatment is different because a nurse delivers insulin intravenously using a specially designed medical device approved by the United States government, he said.
The process produces important hormones, including insulin, necessary for the treatment of diabetes. Traditionally, insulin is administered subcutaneously by either pump or needle.
Rodolfo C. Estimo, Jr. - Arab News
