JEDDAH: A national awareness program,”Diabetes, Friend or Foe?,” was launched by King Abdulaziz University in seven major cities of the Kingdom on Saturday. The program, especially for diabetes in children, will target Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah, Taif, Yanbu, Tabuk, Alkhobar and Dammam.

Dr. Abdul Moeen Agha, child consultant and faculty member at King Abdulaziz University’s department of pediatrics, said the program is in the framework of national health campaigns to raise awareness about the diabetes problems in children aged below 18 years.

Agha said that Saudi Arabia is at the third place for diabetes in children and seventh for diabetes in adults worldwide, so it’s important greater attention is paid to this silent killer.

Dr. Yasser Al Amri, program coordinator in Yanbu, said the event was launched in Dana Mall in the presence of Agha, Dr. Abdul Qader Juhani, director of training and development manager at the Royal Commission Hospital Yanbu, Dr. Abed Al-Hazmi, head of the children’s department of Royal Commission Hospital Yanbu, and other officials and volunteers.

An awareness campaign was launched in Yanbu Mall in the presence of officials of the municipality and other authorities, including the kids’ corner and face painting to attract children.

The campaign includes awareness about diabetes, its signs and how to deal with the disease in children, how to control sugar, dangers of increasing sugar in the blood stream and other problems related to diabetes.

Agha said the national implementation plan was adopted to extend the campaign throughout the month of Ramadan. He urged the members of the community to participate in its activities and help in the fight against the disease.

According to the International Diabetes Federation, 387 million people have diabetes in the world and more than 37 million in the MENA Region; by 2035 this will rise to 68 million.

There were 3.8 million cases of diabetes in Saudi Arabia in 2014. The number of deaths in adults due to the disease was 25,527, cost per person with diabetes $1,067.3 and almost 1,549.2 number of cases of diabetes in adults remain undiagnosed.