Public and private sectors must come together to fight diabetes

Islamabad :Both the government as well as the private sector will have to step up their efforts to fight the global challenge of diabetes, which can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle which involves consumption of a balanced diet and regular physical activity.

Views to this effect echoed at a seminar organised by Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital (WIH) here Tuesday in connection with World Diabetes Day. A large number of doctors, medical staff and patients from attended the programme. The hospital’s CEO Dr. Shaukat Bangash was also present on the occasion.

The event was organised to raise public awareness and impart basic knowledge about diabetes in an effort to improve the quality of life of diabetic patients and help them get good sugar control by making changes in their lifestyle and eating patterns.

Brigadier (r) Dr. Abdul Halim, head of the departments of medicine and nephrology termed diabetes as a global health challenge. World Diabetes Day has grown from a humble beginning to become a globally celebrated event in spreading the message about diabetes and raising awareness about this challenge, he stated.

Consultant endocrinologist Dr. Syed Zubair Hussain described basic facts about diabetes including types, symptoms, causes and preventive strategies. He stressed that diabetes can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle which involves diet and physical activity.

Consultant diabetologist Dr. Osama Ishtiaq discussed the importance of lifestyle modification in diabetes management and women’s health while consultant vascular surgeon Dr. Syed Nasim Haider discussed vascular complications in diabetes. Consultant dietitian Ayeza Umar explained the importance of a healthy diet in diabetes management.

The discussion was followed by a question-answer session. The participants then visited the exhibition stalls set up by various pharmaceutical companies. Blood sugar and BMI were tested for free at these stalls.

Addressing the gathering, the CEO of QIH Dr. Shaukat Ali Bangash hoped that events like these would go a long way in promoting intelligent control and management of diabetes. He said diabetes is a complicated problem that affects over 415 million people in the world. He thanked all doctors, staff and participants who organized the event.