The Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association is conducting a study for a national project to combat diabetes, said its chairman in the Eastern province, Abdulaziz Al-Turki. The project will be conducted in cooperation with several government agencies.
Al-Turki valued the role of the media in promoting the work of associations for the benefit of Eastern Province residents during an evening organized by the Diabetes and Endocrine Association in the Eastern Province in honor of prominent media figures.
Al-Turki praised King Abdullah International Foundation for Charity and Humanitarian Deeds for approving the association’s project for dialysis patients at an annual cost of SR400 million.
“The 14-day camp for children with diabetes aims to create an educated generation that knows how to adapt to and live with diabetes,” he said.
This camp is held once a year in one of the member countries of the International Diabetes Federation. “We should support the camp and give it extensive media coverage. Diabetes is becoming an epidemic, with an increasing number of child sufferers,” Al-Turki added.
The Kingdom ranks fourth in obesity, with a percentage of 35.6 percent. Some 1.5 million children in Saudi Arabia are obese and are likely to develop diabetes, which means higher health care costs.
The government allocated SR70 billion to the Ministry of Health in 2011, 11.8 percent of the total budget.
An estimated 35 percent of type-2 diabetes patients are over the age of 20, while 30 percent of diabetes patients suffer from kidney failure, of which 11,000 are undergoing dialysis at a total cost of SR772 million.
Saeed Al-Bami, director of Dammam Television, called for accurate information to highlight the dangers of this disease, saying welfare organizations should be transparent in their work.
“We are ready to support the goals of these associations within their means,” he said.
1.5 million obese children at risk of developing diabetes
