Manama, November 13 (BNA) Primary health care at the Supreme Council of Health, in cooperation with Novo Nordisk Company, organized the “World Diabetes Day” conference.
Dr. Abdulwahab Mohammed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Primary Health Care, Bourne Anderson, representative of the Embassy of Denmark in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Dr. Ahmed Magdy, Head of Patient Support and Public Relations at Novo Nordisk, spoke during the conference. The conference, which witnessed a wide participation of doctors, specialists and academics through personal attendance in the session hall or via video communication technology.
In his opening speech, Dr. Abdulwahab Mohammed stressed that the celebration of World Diabetes Day is an opportunity to raise awareness among citizens to adapt to a healthier lifestyle to face the increasing number of cases of diabetes in the Kingdom of Bahrain in particular, and in the world. generally. He also praised the focus on this year’s theme. “Availability of medicines and diabetes care” and its importance in the pharmaceutical sector and in the treatment of this type of disease.
Dr. Abdel Wahab explained that the Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the leading countries in developing plans and programs to combat diabetes, drawn from the subject of non-communicable diseases, included in the National Health Sector Plan of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the years (2016-). 2025).
He pointed out that the high incidence of diabetes, according to the latest national health survey conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2018-2019, amounted to 15%, which is certainly a high percentage that requires intensified efforts to educate citizens.
He added that encouraging adaptation to a healthier lifestyle through regular exercise and healthy eating should target parents and children at an early age, especially with the increasing rates of diabetes among children in particular, where the incidence rate is 80 to 85 cases. Type 1 diabetes in children is registered annually.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Primary Health Care at the Supreme Council of Health in the community movement praised the efforts of the Supreme Council of Health and the Ministry of Health aimed at combating diabetes and providing treatment means such as medicines, plans and awareness programs. Noting that these efforts stem from the government’s interest in investing in the health of citizens, which is a high priority in the government’s action plan.
Dr. Jalila Al-Sayed, CEO of the Primary Health Care Centers, praised the cooperation of the private sector with the government in organizing such conferences, which undoubtedly contributes to enriching the national plans to combat non-communicable diseases in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She also praised Novo Nordisk’s aspiration to cooperate in organizing this conference, which is characterized by the active participation of doctors and specialists, and includes rich working papers that contribute to understanding the latest developments in the field of diabetes diagnosis and treatment.
Dr. Jalila said that the fight against diabetes in the Kingdom of Bahrain has acquired a new challenge represented by the Corona virus pandemic that has affected the world during the past two years, noting that controlling the increasing rates of cases can lead to reducing risks. Exposure to this type of virus for diabetics, explaining that diabetes can generally cause a decrease in the efficiency of the body’s immune system, and thus reducing the number of cases can reduce those challenges.
The CEO of the Primary Health Care Centers explained that there is another challenge that the health system in the Kingdom aims to overcome. To reduce complications of diabetes, such as low or high blood sugar levels, high diabetic ketoacidosis that requires hospitalization, as well as other complications such as heart disease, strokes, retinopathy, kidney failure, symmetrical neurofibromas, diabetic foot, as well as oral and gum problems and diseases sexually transmitted.
Dr. Ahmed Magdy, Head of Patient Support and Public Relations Department at Novo Nordisk, expressed his happiness to cooperate with the Board of Trustees of Primary Health Care in the Supreme Council of Health to organize this conference in the Kingdom of Bahrain, indicating that the Kingdom of Bahrain is the best. One of the leading countries in this field.
Dr. Ahmed highlighted the centenary of the invention of insulin, which made a therapeutic breakthrough that saved many lives who suffer from this disease, especially children with type 1 diabetes known to damage the pancreas, noting that the innovation of diabetes treatment did not stop there. The discovery of insulin During the last century, new drugs were developed that not only target blood sugar levels but also treat heart-related complications, leading to a lower death rate among diabetics.
He added that the discovery of insulin and its role in the treatment of diabetes was a unique medical achievement, and scientists received many Nobel Prizes for the development of research related to insulin, noting that the manufacture of insulin pumps has advanced greatly and the idea of producing an artificial pancreas from beta cells is closer than ever.
Dr. expressed. Ahmed expressed his aspiration to organize more of these vital and important conferences in the Kingdom of Bahrain in cooperation with the government with the aim of serving citizens and activating the principle of cooperation between the public and private sectors.
Dr. Hanan Humaidan, Head of Central Diabetes Clinics in Primary Care, touched on the topics hosted by the conference, where she indicated that the latest approved methods for diagnosing insulin and treating kidney patients from complications of diabetes, low blood sugar levels, as well as skin diseases resulting from disease will be discussed. Diabetes, access to one of the methods of diagnosis and treatment, and a discussion of the modern technology in treatment represented by modern insulin injections, in addition to methods of protecting the diabetic foot. .
NS