RIYADH, 14 February 2007 — To curtail the increase in diabetes, the Ministry of Health launched a nationwide awareness campaign yesterday in order to prevent, control and treat the disease.
Inaugurating the nationwide campaign, Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie said the government took a serious view of the increase in diabetes in the Kingdom.
A disease is considered epidemic if it affects 30 percent of the population. It is estimated that at present, some 27 percent of the population suffer from some form of diabetes and that 15 percent have foot problems due to diabetes.
Two separate workshops were held for health professionals from the Kingdom’s 20 Diabetic Centers.
Dr. Al-Manie said the idea of the campaign was to locate diabetics in the Kingdom. Therefore, the ministry hoped to take the campaign to the doorstep of the people so that no citizen would be left out. “We will enter every school, every house and every office in the Kingdom during the next two years in order to identify people who have the disease and provide them with early treatment and so prevent serious consequences arising from the disease.”
The minister pointed out that Kingdom spends nearly SR5 billion annually for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
He warned people to take serious note of the disease since it not only can cause blindness but may also cause cardiac, kidney and skin problems. He mentioned that during a routine health inspection in a school in Riyadh, it was found that 20 percent of the students were suffering from diabetes.
“This was really alarming and would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the intervention of Ministry of Health officials,” he said.
Dr. Youssef J. Sonbul from the Ministry of Health emphasized that diabetics should pay special attention to their feet and should wear special shoes designed for them.