Abu Dhabi: Despite the high prevalence of diabetes in the Middle East and North African region (Mena), the mean national expenditure on diabetes prevention and treatment is still low, a leading doctor said in the capital yesterday.
Of the total population of 617 million in the Mena region, 26.6 million have type 2 diabetes, said Dr Amir Kamran Nikousokhan-Tayar, consultant diabetologist and chairman of the International Diabetes Federation in Mena.
"We have an epidemic of the disease, and tackling the disease requires the involvement of people in all fields, including children and policymakers," Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar told Gulf News.
He was speaking at the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress 2010, in which leading health care professionals, practitioners and policy-makers met to discuss various health risks along with possible forms of diagnosis and treatment. In his presentation, Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar confirmed once again that the UAE has the second highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, and the fourth highest rate of impaired glucose tolerance among its population.
"A number of socio-economic factors are responsible for this dramatic increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes," Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar said.
"To stem the spread of type 2 diabetes, a national diabetes programme which measures incidence and educates people about the risks is vital. However, very few countries in the Mena region have such programmes and even fewer implement them fully," Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar said.
"It will take more than a decade to put in place and implement a national programme. Governments should therefore prioritise the reduction of diabetes incidence in their national health care frameworks and work hard to educate their populations," Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar said.
Watch out: Type 2 diabetes
Some complications
- Sudden death n Cardiovascular disease n Visual impairment n Kidney failure n Dementia
Source: Dr Nikousokhan-Tayar
