Dubai: Of the 132 million diabetic Muslims around the world, nearly 100 million can fast safely during Ramadan provided they follow the fasting guidelines, it was revealed at a media briefing held to launch the Diabetes and Ramadan (DAR) alliance by the Emirates Diabetes Society (EDS) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). To meet the challenge of fasting with diabetes, a comprehensive book titled “A Guideline on Diabetes Management During Ramadan’ developed with unrestricted grant from Sanofi can be downloaded for free from April 15 midnight from the website www.daralliance.org.
The Diabetes and Ramadan alliance is holding a two-day congress beginning April 15 at the Dubai Healthcare City to educate more than 500 medical and health care professionals and religious leaders from 30 countries and provide them with a comprehensive picture of the nature of the disease, the physiology of fasting, risk factors, stratification, nutrition advice, medication adjustment and implementation of recommendations from the book.
Depending on the kind of diabetes and co-morbidities, patients have been classified into red, amber and green categories. “Individuals in red and amber categories should not fast and those in the green category can fast under medical supervision,” said Dr Mohammad Hassanein, chairman of DAR. “It is important for medical practitioners to work closely with their patients to educate them,” he added.
Dr Shaukat Sadikot, president-elect of IDF, felt it was important for individuals to know the ground rules on diabetes management (which the book could provide) and tailor it to their specific countries and cultural and individual needs. “Medical professionals, religious leaders and health-care providers need to work in harmony to ensure a safe and healthy month for all,” he said.
Expressing full-fledged support for the alliance, Dr Abdul Razak Al Madani, President of EDS, said: “We are endorsing the new guidelines and aim to ensure that Muslim diabetics in the UAE make use of these tools to manage their health throughout the holy month.”
