Ministry has nothing new to share on World Health Day

Islamabad

Interestingly, all that the Ministry of Health did on the eve of World Health Day was to issue a statement emphasising the need for increased awareness about the rising incidence of diabetes, and its staggering burden and consequences in Pakistan.

Rather than marking the day by releasing its much-trumpeted National Action Plan for Diabetes Prevention and Control, the statement only repeats the objectives of the Action Plan and talks about the formation of a task force on diabetes, which will consist of members from the Ministry and key stakeholders from across the country. It also reminds the public, for the umpteenth time, about the existence of a dedicated Non-Communicable Disease Cell with a focus on diabetes prevention and control.

World Health Day this year is being observed with the theme ‘Beat Diabetes,’ a stark reminder to trigger a wave of effective actions to tackle the disease.

In her message on the occasion, Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal said, “Pakistan has 7 million people affected with diabetes, making it the 8th largest diabetic population in the world. There is an urgent need to create understanding amongst the population to prevent the disease and promote its treatment.”

Saira has urged all segments of the society to play their role and urged people to observe simple lifestyle, maintain normal body weight, engage in regular physical activity, and eat a healthy diet to reduce the risk of diabetes.

Diabetes is one of four priority Non Communicable Diseases targeted by world leaders in the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the SDGs 2016-2030. The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 provides a roadmap and menu of policy options to attain nine voluntary global targets, including an additional target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025.