Access to diabetes education seen as key to fighting Arab world’s invisible enemy

Special Access to diabetes education seen as key to fighting Arab world’s invisible enemy
In recent years, cases of Type 2 diabetes have skyrocketed in specific regions, including the Middle East and North Africa. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 22 November 2022

Access to diabetes education seen as key to fighting Arab world’s invisible enemy

Access to diabetes education seen as key to fighting Arab world’s invisible enemy
  • Poor diet and sedentary lifestyles blamed for rising cases across the world over the past decade
  • Gulf states now rank among the world’s top nations with the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes

DUBAI: Controlling the sweet tooth is not the only lifestyle choice that will determine whether or not an individual will develop diabetes in the course of their lifetime. The chronic disease, which has seen an alarming rise in cases across the world over the past decade, has been linked to sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets and obesity.

Inadequate knowledge about the prevention and management of the condition in many countries led the International Diabetes Federation to make “access to diabetes education” the theme of World Diabetes Day for the third consecutive year.

Every year, campaigns are launched around the world on Nov. 14 to help raise awareness about the disease, which, as of 2021, affected 537 million adults between the ages of 20 and 79 worldwide.




“Access to diabetes education” is the theme of World Diabetes Day. (Shutterstock)

In recent years, cases of Type 2 diabetes have skyrocketed in specific regions, including the Middle East and North Africa — particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council area. Countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain now rank among the top 10 nations with the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.

In the UAE, as many as one in five people have diabetes, with Type 2 being the most common form, according to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. This number is expected to double by 2040.

In response to this seemingly inexorable increase in cases, health experts are examining everything from lifestyle trends to technological advancements and healthcare systems to determine what can be done to slow the spread and identify how much is down to genetics.

According to Dr. Sara Suliman, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi, variables such as urbanization, changing climate, mobility and food availability influence rates of diabetes in different areas.

“The GCC, being one of the richer areas in the world, has seen far more use of cars, far more easy access to food, including high-calorie food, and is one of the leading areas in the world as far as an increase in diabetes cases is concerned,” she told Arab News.

The situation is just as worrying in other countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Data from 2021 shows that 73 million adults (aged 20-79) across the MENA region are living with diabetes — a figure that is estimated to grow to 95 million by 2030 and 136 million by 2045.

“Until very recently, we were hanging a lot of things on genes. We do know if one parent has diabetes (Type 2), then there is a 40 percent chance of an individual getting diabetes, and that if two parents have diabetes, then there is an 80 percent chance of the individual becoming affected,” said Suliman.

In fact, not only is Type 2 diabetes preventable, it can also be reversed through a complete change in lifestyle. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Type 1.

With genetics accounting for only 5-10 percent of cases, Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction, which leads the body to attack itself, destroying the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin.




Dr. Sara Suliman. (Supplied)

“For Type 1 diabetes, the treatment is insulin and will always be insulin. But with Type 2, we have different options,” said Suliman.

It is no secret that excessive consumption of fizzy drinks, energy shots, sweetened juices and processed junk foods tops the list of diets that result in high blood sugar levels (or blood glucose levels).

An unhealthy diet coupled with a lack of regular exercise, fewer than seven hours of sleep per night and poor hydration significantly increases the risk of obesity as well as type 2 diabetes, said Suliman.

“Obesity is another major problem in the Gulf countries,” she said. “For example, 50 percent of children in Kuwait are at the moment either overweight or obese.”

FASTFACTS

* 537m Adults living with diabetes in 2021, predicted to rise to 643m by 2030, 783m by 2045.

* 3/4 Proportion of adults with diabetes who live in low- and middle-income countries.

* 6.7m Number of deaths caused by diabetes in 2021 ​​— 1 every 5 seconds.

Source: International Diabetes Federation

Studies predict that at least 10 countries in the MENA region will have more than a million children suffering from obesity by 2030.

Looking at the problem through a different lens, Dr. Ihsan Al-Marzooqi, co-founder and managing director of Glucare Health, says although bad habits significantly impact rates of diabetes, there is another side to the story.

“While it is easy to blame patients for their lifestyle choices, the reason we see this growth is because, over the past 40 years, healthcare providers have not changed their model of care to tackle the root cause of the disease,” he told Arab News.

“Despite all the advances we have seen in healthcare, the system still treats patients episodically — a quick 15 minutes with your doctor every quarter — with a strong emphasis on prescription medications.”

Describing diabetes as “fundamentally a behavioral problem,” Al-Marzooqi highlighted the need for healthcare providers to focus on innovating care models that provide a more consistent follow-up approach that emphasizes changes in behavior.




“The system still treats patients episodically — a quick 15 minutes with your doctor every quarter — with a strong emphasis on prescription medications,” said Dr. Ihsan Al-Marzooqi. (Supplied)

To achieve this, providers need to consistently record new sets of personal data for each patient, a practice Al-Marzooqi says has not yet evolved in MENA countries.

Critiquing current care models, he says patients have little knowledge about the effect of their actions on their health, adding that this has resulted in a large number of poorly controlled diabetics in the GCC.

“We believe that most patients simply do not have agency over their own health, as in they cannot contextualize the extent of how their lifestyle choices can ultimately affect their diabetes outcome,” he said.

At the same time, “providers will always advise their patients on lifestyle modification, but none will actually track the advice they give.”

According to Al-Marzooqi, the outcome is evident in the data collected, which indicates that almost 75 percent of managed diabetics in the GCC with access to care are classified as “poorly controlled.”

Highlighting predictions of a regionwide “tsunami” of healthcare bills as a result of the situation, he says diabetes need not be a costly disease to manage.




Historically, diabetes patients had no choice but to prick their finger several times a day to monitor their blood sugar. (Shutterstock)

“The complications from poorly controlled diabetes are what lead to almost a quarter of healthcare budgets being spent on diabetes,” he said.

To end this cycle, Al-Marzooqi says governments should incentivize healthcare providers by rewarding them for clinical outcomes as opposed to the current fee-for-service models.

If a value-based reimbursement model is put into practice, he argues, providers who innovate and invest in new modalities, such as digital therapeutics, will end up with a better engaged and better managed population. This, in turn, could reduce future complications, thereby reducing the overall cost.

On the upside, Gulf governments have been making efforts to raise awareness about the disease. Early education and training on managing the condition and promoting healthy lifestyles are now widespread at schools and universities in the region, says Suliman.

Some governments have got municipalities to set up public walkways and running tracks and outdoor gyms and ministries to launch nationwide fitness campaigns to encourage people to get active.

Another example of state intervention is the sugar tax in the UAE, announced in 2019, which applies a 50 percent tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages.

From a technological standpoint, treating diabetes has also come a long way, says Suliman. Historically, diabetes patients had no choice but to prick their finger several times a day to monitor their blood sugar and self-inject insulin when needed.

“We are now spoiled for choice,” she said. Significant progress has been made in the development of glucose sensors and insulin pumps. These devices allow patients to keep track of their sugar levels with live updates on their mobile phones.

Additionally, patients who are in need of insulin on a daily basis have the choice of installing a sensor and pump device that can take care of tracking and applying the right dosage needed to avoid the traditional method of injection.

“There are signs that we can at least flatten the curve,” said Suliman, who believes the younger generation is more conscious of better lifestyle choices.

“The problem is, the rise in diabetes cases has been so steep as to be scary, and if the pessimistic forecasts come true, it would be even scarier.”

She added: “We all have to move in the same direction.”


Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkiye, Syria after quake

Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkiye, Syria after quake
Updated 13 sec ago

Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkiye, Syria after quake

Donors pledge $7.5 billion for Turkiye, Syria after quake
BRUSSELS: The European Union and international donors on Monday pledged seven billion euros ($7.5 billion) to help Turkiye and Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake that devastated parts of the neighboring countries last month.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU’s executive arm, said 3.3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) of the total amount will be raised by the 27-nation bloc.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6 killed more than 52,000 people — the vast majority in Turkiye. Nearly 300,000 buildings in Turkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, according to the country’s president.
“We have shown to the people in Turkiye and Syria that we are supporting those in need,” Von der Leyen said, adding that the global pledge included 1.1 billion euros from the EU’s executive arm, and 500 millions from the European Investment Bank, backed by the EU budget.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the conference via videolink and described some of the reconstruction challenges, including deadly floods that hit parts of the earthquake zone last week.
“Some of the aftershocks have been going on for a while and they are of equal magnitude to a separate earthquake,” he said. “We have been fighting against the flood disasters and challenging weather conditions.”
Erdogan said some 298,000 buildings across 11 provinces affected by the earthquake were destroyed or left unfit for use.
“No single country can fight against such a disaster, regardless of its level of economic development,” he said, putting the cost of reconstruction at $104 billion. “Your contributions made at this conference will contribute to the healing of wounds and wipe clean the traces of this disaster.”
The conference hosted by the European Commission and Sweden — which holds the rotating presidency of the EU — was attended by NGOs, G-20 countries and UN members as well as international financial institutions.
Survivors of the earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country’s 12-year war. The EU said 15.3 million Syrians of a population of 21.3 million already required humanitarian assistance before the earthquake struck.
The bloc has been providing humanitarian aid to Syria since 2011 and wants to step it up. But it does not intend to help with reconstruction in the war-torn country, with EU sanctions against the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad in place due to its continued crackdown against civilians.
Von der Leyen said the Commission pledged an additional 108 million euros ($115.8 million) in humanitarian aid for Syria on Monday.
“All together we managed to raise with our partners 950 million euros ($1 billion) for the people in Syria,” she said. “This is just the first step.”
The International Rescue Committee, an aid group responding to humanitarian crises, had urged donors to ensure that the UN’s appeal for Turkiye and Syria — calling for $1 billion and $397 million respectively — is fully funded.
“The people affected by this devastating earthquake are relying on donors meeting in Brussels to step up this week,” said Tanya Evans, the IRC’s Country Director in Syria. “They need to ensure that funding is available for life-saving items including food, shelter, warm clothes and clean water, as well as support to the already weak health care system including the provision of medicines and medical equipment. If they fail to do so, the most vulnerable will pay the price,” she added.

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain happiest Arab states during pandemic: study

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain happiest Arab states during pandemic: study
Updated 25 min 4 sec ago

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain happiest Arab states during pandemic: study

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain happiest Arab states during pandemic: study
  • Lebanon ranks second-last out of 137 countries in World Happiness Report
  • Out of the 137 countries measured, the top three Arab countries were the UAE at 26, Saudi Arabia at 30 and Bahrain at 42

LONDON: The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were the happiest Arab countries from 2020 to 2022, according to the World Happiness Report, which was published on Monday.

Lebanon, suffering from economic malaise and a political crisis, was the unhappiest Arab state and second-last out of the 137 countries measured in the study.

The report, titled “World Happiness, Trust and Social Connections in Times of Crisis,” surveyed respondents from around the world for the three years spanning the COVID-19 pandemic.

It measured well-being through three main indicators: life evaluations, positive emotions and negative emotions. Happiness rankings were based on a three-year average of life evaluations.

Several variables were also considered in the study, including gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption.

“Only at the extremes do country rankings for life evaluations differ significantly from all others — Finland at the top and Afghanistan and Lebanon at the bottom,” the report said.

Out of the 137 countries measured, the top three Arab countries were the UAE at 26, Saudi Arabia at 30 and Bahrain at 42.

The three Gulf states were the only Arab countries out of the 13 listed that were in the top third of the global list.

Nine Arab countries were not listed: Djibouti, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The bottom half of the rankings included Algeria (81), Iraq (98), Palestine (99), Morocco (100), Mauritania (103), Tunisia (110), Egypt (121), Jordan (123), Comoros (130) and Lebanon (136). The only country listed behind Lebanon was Afghanistan.

The World Happiness Report highlighted several surprising findings, including that the number of benevolent acts in 2022 measured about a quarter higher than before the pandemic.

The gathered data appeared to confirm a range of studies showing that higher public trust led to more successful pandemic responses in countries around the world.

“The benefits of high trust were especially great for those in conditions of adversity, including ill-health, unemployment, low income, discrimination and unsafe streets,” the report said.

It added that its life evaluation metric “continued to be remarkably resilient,” with global averages throughout the pandemic measuring “just as high as those in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”


UN aid agency in $16m appeal for Syria quake-hit Palestine refugees

UN aid agency in $16m appeal for Syria quake-hit Palestine refugees
Updated 39 min 20 sec ago

UN aid agency in $16m appeal for Syria quake-hit Palestine refugees

UN aid agency in $16m appeal for Syria quake-hit Palestine refugees
  • Earthquake affected nearly 47,000 Palestine refugees in Syria with over 2,300 still displaced

LONDON: A UN aid organization on Monday appealed for $16.2 million to help Palestine refugees affected by the recent devastating earthquake in Syria.

Officials of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) made their plea for funds during the International Donors’ Conference in Brussels, Emirates News Agency reported.

Part of the agency’s 2023 Syria-Lebanon Flash Appeal, the money was urgently required to meet the humanitarian and early recovery needs of the refugee group following the quake that rocked the north of Syria in February.

Nearly 47,000 Palestine refugees in Syria are estimated to have been affected by the disaster with more than 2,300 still displaced.

The agency has already provided hygiene kits and blankets, psychosocial support for children, telemedicine help for vulnerable individuals, and cash assistance to families.

UNRWA schools have also reopened with catch-up classes and child psychosocial sessions.

While UNRWA has pledged to continue providing critical aid to Palestine refugees in the aftermath of the quake, it has stated that it cannot do so alone.

 


Global Media Congress, WAM publish white paper on future of the media industry

Global Media Congress, WAM publish white paper on future of the media industry
Updated 47 min 59 sec ago

Global Media Congress, WAM publish white paper on future of the media industry

Global Media Congress, WAM publish white paper on future of the media industry
  • Document explores impact of AI, demand for people-centric news, growth of the metaverse, Gen Z consumption habits

LONDON: The Global Media Congress, in partnership with the Emirates News Agency and trans-Atlantic think tank the Henry Jackson Society, published on Monday a white paper on the future of the media industry.

The launch ceremony, which was held in London, gathered more than 60 media leaders, politicians, and academics from across the industry, WAM reported. 

The event held a panel discussion featuring WAM Director-General Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi; Lord James Bethell, a former parliamentary undersecretary of state in the UK; and Chiyo Robertson, a senior business editor. The discussion was moderated by Marc Sidwell, a director of research for the Henry Jackson Society.

The release of the white paper follows the conclusion of the Global Media Congress held in Abu Dhabi last November. It drew on discussions from the event’s roundtable debates on the resilience of news organizations in an age of rapid technological change, and the spread of disinformation.

The impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the demand for people-centric news, the growth of the metaverse, and Gen Z consumption habits are among the central themes explored. Four expert insights from leading media practitioners are also included in the white paper.

Al Rayssi said: “It is my hope that this white paper will serve as a reference point for the global media industry as we work together to sustainably reform for the future. It is something we intend to update and publish annually.”


COP28 president-designate attends Copenhagen Climate Ministerial

COP28 president-designate attends Copenhagen Climate Ministerial
Updated 53 min 43 sec ago

COP28 president-designate attends Copenhagen Climate Ministerial

COP28 president-designate attends Copenhagen Climate Ministerial
  • Two-day event is the first climate ministerial meeting leading up to COP28
  • Al-Jaber highlighted the importance of finance to achieving progress across climate pillars

LONDON: Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Jaber, the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology, and the COP28 president-designate, chaired the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on Monday alongside Sameh Shoukry, the COP27 president, and Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s minister for development, cooperation and global climate policy.

This two-day event, which gathered over 40 government ministers, is the first climate ministerial meeting leading up to COP28, Emirates News Agency reported.

“We need to build on the foundation achieved at COP27 and move from goals to getting it done. We are way off track when it comes to the critical goal of keeping 1.5 C alive,” Al-Jaber said in his  opening remarks at the ministerial.

“Incremental steps will simply not cut it, we need transformational progress in the next seven years across mitigation, adaptation, climate finance and loss and damage,” he added.

The COP28 president-designate also called on countries to “scale up all available zero-carbon energy sources, while minimizing the emissions from all other energy sources. 

“Technology that no one can afford isn’t of much use to anyone. Governments should therefore adopt smart policies to incentivise breakthroughs in battery storage and commercialize carbon capture and the hydrogen value chain,” he said.

“We should inject a business mindset, short-term KPIs and an ambitious action-oriented agenda into the Mitigation Work Programme, and remember that the enemy is emissions, not progress.”

Furthermore, Al-Jaber emphasized the need to develop a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation “that meets the needs of developing countries, builds resilience, protects fragile biodiversity and enhances nature-based solutions.” 

He added: “At a minimum, we need to double adaptation finance and adopt national policies that build every country’s capacity to adapt to climate impacts.”

The COP28 president-designate said that finance is critical to making progress, as he called for “urgent reform of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks to unlock much more concessional capital, lower risk and attract more private finance. The bottom line is finance needs to be much more available, accessible and affordable.”

In addition, Al-Jaber highlighted the importance of “solidarity and unity of purpose.”

He continued: “There is simply no room for division. Progress of the kind we need can only happen through partnership, not polarization.

“The task ahead represents one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced. But, if we act with urgency, act together and act now, it also represents one of the greatest opportunities for social and economic development.”

Throughout the ministerial, Al-Jaber held bilateral meetings with climate leaders and government ministers from across the globe. 

Copenhagen is the latest stop in his international tour to meet with and listen to partners from governments, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations.