Although World Diabetes Day 2016 will be observed on Monday, the world, including Pakistan, various hospitals and organisations in Karachi started activities and launched advocacy campaigns on Saturday to increase public awareness about the disease.
Several organisations are encouraging people who are overweight, have family history of diabetes and are of Asian origin to get themselves tested for diabetes, saying it is advisable to control diabetes through lifestyle changes and medicine in order to avoid complications.
In this regard, the Liaquat National Hospital arranged a free medical camp, which was visited by a large number of people. At the camp, blood sugar and cholesterol tests and blood pressure checks were conducted by a team of experts.
Following the medical camp and tests, an awareness seminar was held at the auditorium of the hospital, where experts said diabetes was commonly known as the “silent killer” for its discreet presence in patients.
They said that in Pakistan, a number of people suffering from diabetes was around 40 million, and 25 percent of them were with uncontrollable diabetes, which may lead towards renal failure, requiring dialyses and kidney transplantation.
Mainly unhealthy lifestyle, obesity and lack of physical exercise are the major causes of this disease; however, if there is a family history, then the chances increase. Feeling thirsty with frequent intervals, excessive urination and sudden weight loss are the initial symptoms, and it is advised to go for a blood test and visit a doctor.
The experts said the risk factors of diabetes which might affect the vital organs of the body included eyes, kidneys, lever and heart. They explained different types of diabetes which varied in different age groups, including children.
Dr Salman Faridi, medical director of LNH, thanked the people for their interest in learning about the diabetes and said that day by day new researches and new medicines were introduced, which made it easy to manage diabetes, leading to a better life.
He said an exclusive diabetic centre had been established at the Liaquat Nation Hospital’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar medical services centre where patients could come for advice and treatment from the top consultants of the hospital.
The experts who spoke included Dr Aqiba Sarfaraz, Dr Ali Asghar, Dr Mohammad Naeem, Dr Imran Ghayyur, Dr Moeen and dietician Dr Munnaza.
SIUT event
At an awareness session held at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), medical specialists had underlined the need for conducting widespread screening for diabetes in the country to check the growing incidence of this metabolic disorder.
Speaking at the event held to mark World Diabetes Day organised by the SIUT, experts informed the audience that currently there were some 10 million diabetes patients in the country and the figure was projected to rise to over 14 million by 2040.
World Diabetes Day has been observed at global level annually since 1991. The organisers at the SIUT had advanced the day in order to facilitate the maximum number of people to avail the screening and advisory facilities at the institute.
The theme for the current year is “Eye on Diabetes” stressing the need for screening and early diagnoses. The SIUT has made elaborate arrangements to create awareness and educate the population at large by arranging lectures of medical specialists and advisory services for patients, besides free screening and testing facilities.
Experts informed people that 70 percent of diabetes could be prevented by healthy dietary habits and regular physical activity. During the series of lectures, speakers pointed out that the population in Pakistan was vulnerable mainly because of lack of education, ignorance, growing urbanisation, and above all indifference on the part of policymakers and decision-makers related to health sector.
They also disclosed that un-diagnosed diabetes had now become a global public health issue, leading to serious health outcome.
