Bahrain’s services to diabetic patients highlighted

Manama, Nov. 13 (BNA): Primary Health Care at the Supreme Council of Health, in cooperation with Novo Nordisk, have organised the "World Diabetes Day" Conference. Dr. Abdulwahab Mohammed, Chairman of Primary Health Care Board of Trustees, Bourn Anderson, Representative of the Embassy of Denmark in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Dr. Ahmed Majdy, Head of Patient Support and Public Relations Department at Novo Nordisk, spoke during the conference, which witnessed a wide participation of doctors, specialists, and academics through in-person attendance in the session hall, or via video communication technology. In his opening speech, Dr. Abdulwahab Mohammed confirmed that the World Diabetes Day observance is an opportunity to raise awareness among citizens to adapt to a healthier lifestyle to combat the increasing numbers of diabetes cases in the Kingdom of Bahrain in particular, and in the world in general. He also praised the focus on this year's theme; the "Availability of Medicines and Diabetes Care", and its importance in the pharmaceutical sector and in treating this type of diseases. Dr. Abdulwahab stated that the Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the leading countries to develop plans and programmes to combat diabetes, derived from the theme of non-communicable diseases, included in the Kingdom of Bahrain’s health sector’s national plan for the years (2016-2025). He also stated that the increasing diabetes cases, according to the latest national health survey conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2018-2019, amounted to 15%, is certainly a high percentage that requires intensifying efforts to raise awareness among citizens. He added that encouraging the adaptation of a healthier lifestyle through regular exercising and healthy eating should be targeted to parents and children at an early age, especially with the increasing rates of diabetes cases among children in particular, where an average of 80 to 85 cases of type 1 diabetes are recorded in children annually. The Chairman of Primary Health Care Board of Trustees at the Supreme Council of Health in the Societal Movement praised the efforts of the Supreme Council of Health and the Ministry of Health aimed to combating diabetes, providing means of treatment such as medicines, awareness plans and programmes, noting that these efforts stem from the government’s interest in investing in the citizens’ health, which is given a great priority in the government’s action plan. Dr. Jalila Al-Sayed, CEO of the Primary Health Care Centres, praised the cooperation of the private sector with the government in organising such conferences, which undoubtedly contributes to enriching the national plans in combating non-communicable diseases in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She also praised Novo Nordisk aspiration to cooperate in the organisation of this conference, which features the active participation of doctors and specialists, and includes rich working papers that contribute to comprehending the latest developments in the field of diabetes diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Jalila also said that the fight against diabetes in the Kingdom of Bahrain has acquired a new challenge represented in the Coronavirus pandemic that has affected the world during the last two years, noting that controlling the increasing rates of cases can lead to reducing the risks being exposed to this type of viruses for the diabetes patients, explaining that diabetes can generally cause the reduction of the body’s immune system efficiency, and therefore reducing the number of cases can reduce those challenges. The CEO of the Primary Health Care Centres specified that there is another challenge that the health system in the Kingdom aims to conquer; to reduce the complications of diabetes, such as low or high blood sugar levels, and high diabetic ketoacidosis that requires hospitalisation, as well as other complications such as heart disease, strokes, retinopathy, kidney function failures, symmetrical bundle neurofibromas, diabetic foot, as well as oral and gum problems and STDs. Dr. Ahmed Majdy, Head of Patient Support and Public Relations Department at Novo Nordisk, expressed his pleasure in cooperating with the Primary Health Care Board of Trustees at the Supreme Council of Health to organise this conference in the Kingdom of Bahrain, stating that Bahrain is one of the leading countries in this field. Dr. Ahmed highlighted the 100th anniversary of the invention of Insulin, which made a therapeutic breakthrough that saved many lives suffering this disease, especially children with type 1 diabetes, which is known to damage the pancreas, stating that diabetes treatment innovation did not stop at discovering the Insulin during the last century, as new drugs have been developed that not only target blood sugar levels, but also treat heart-related complications, leading to lower mortality among diabetic patients. He added that the discovery of insulin and its role in the treatment of diabetes was a unique medical achievement, and scientists attained many Nobel Prizes for developing insulin related research, remarking that the Insulin pumps manufacturing industry has advanced greatly and the idea of producing an artificial pancreas from Beta cells is closer than ever. Dr. Ahmed expressed his aspirations to organise more of such vital and important conferences in the Kingdom of Bahrain in cooperation with the government, aiming of serving citizens and activating the principle of cooperation between the public and private sectors. Dr. Hanan Humaidan, Head of the Central Diabetes Clinics in Primary Care, touched on the topics hosted by the conference, as she indicated that the latest approved methods of Insulin diagnosis and treatment of patients with kidney disease as a complication of diabetes, and low blood sugar levels will be discussed, as well as skin diseases caused by diabetes, access to one of the methods of diagnosis and treatment, and a discussion of modern technology in treatment represented by modern Insulin injections, in addition to methods of protecting the diabetic foot.