ISLAMABAD: While World Diabetes Day observed on Thursday, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmed Bharath said that diabetes was a major public health concern in Pakistan, requiring a united approach from all sectors to tackle it.

“Approximately 33 million individuals in Pakistan live with diabetes, with an alarmingly 27pc more, still undiagnosed,” he said after inaugurating a Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Centre in Barri Imam.

“In 2021, diabetes resulted in 396,625 deaths. Pakistan remains committed to global efforts for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and advancing towards the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) diabetes care targets for 2030,” he said.

Federal Secretary Health Nadeem Mahbub underscored the importance of collective action stating: “Diabetes is not only a chronic health condition; it’s a critical challenge for individuals, families, and communities across Pakistan.”

Meanwhile Consultant Nutritionist at Shifa International Hospital Dr Rezzan Khan, in a statement, said that diabetes was a complex and chronic disease affecting millions of Pakistanis. The most effective means to attain successful health outcomes and improved quality of life for people living with diabetes was Diabetes Self-Management (DSM).

“However, it is crucial to access proper nutritional support while developing your DSM practices, as wrong information is very commonly shared, which promotes overly restrictive diets for diabetes management. These unnecessary dietary restrictions make compliance difficult. Poor diet compliance may increase need for additional medication,” he said.

“A common misinformation is the belief that if you take medication to manage diabetes, you can eat whatever you want! Medication cannot do all the work alone and must be used in combination with diet and lifestyle change which can preserve the body’s insulin producing function,”Dr. Rezzan said.

“For better glucose control, choose high-quality carbs, include healthy fats in diet, eat a bigger breakfast, move calories earlier in the day, eat during the most active daytime hours. Timing and size of meals are critical in lowering blood sugar,” he said.

In another development Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH), Heartfile, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates, and Center for Peace and Development organised a walk at National Press Club.

Speaker Munawar Hussain said that sweet drinks were the largest source of the intake of the sugar in the diet. “The liquid sugar alters the metabolism of the body, promote excess calorie intake which leads to type 2 diabetes and many other fatal diseases”, he added.

Sanaullah Ghumman said that higher taxes on sugary drinks proved to be an effective strategy for reducing the prevalence of diabetes and other fatal non-communicable diseases.

Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) also organised awareness programmes across the country on World Diabetes Day, where medical experts urged citizens to make exercise a regular habit, avoid fatty foods and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

At the screening camp held at the National Press Club, 10pc of the new diabetes cases were detected, who were previously unaware of their diabetes. PIMA Central President, Prof. Atif Hafeez Siddiqui stated that the number of diabetes patients in Pakistan has reached 3.6 million with one-quarter of them unaware of their disease.

Zubair Faisal Abbasi, advisor Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA), in a statement said “We have developed impaired dietary patterns, and sedentary lifestyles owing to urbanisation and aggressive marketing by the ultra-processed food producers.”

“It is time that our provincial and regional food authorities, and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) update their governance capabilities with plans of actions to help control and penalise producers of unhealthy foods adding burden of noncommunicable diseases”, he said.

Fayza Khan, General Secretary of Pakistan Nutritionist and Dietician Society (PNDS) emphasised that “Eating a balanced diet rich in whole foods, fiber, and healthy fats, and limiting added sugars and refined carbohydrates, is crucial for preventing and managing diabetes”.

Rawalpindi

Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) organised an awareness programme across the country on World Diabetes Day, where medical experts urged citizens to make exercise a regular habit, avoid fatty foods and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

At the screening camp held by PIMA at the National Press Club, 10% of the new diabetes cases were detected, who were previously unaware of their diabetes. PIMA Central President, Prof. Atif Hafeez Siddiqui stated that the number of diabetes patients in Pakistan has reached 3.6 million with one-quarter of them unaware of their disease. He emphasized that when diabetes is undetected or inadequately treated, people with diabetes are at risk of serious and life-threatening complications, such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation. These result in reduced quality of life and higher healthcare costs.

Muzaffarabad

A diabetes awareness event, bringing together a large number of participants from different walks of life, was held in Rawalakot on Thursday to mark World Diabetes Day.

The initiative, which focused on diabetes prevention and management, began with a walk from Degree College Rawalakot to the District Complex, where a free diabetes camp was subsequently inaugurated.

Participants who included students, healthcare professionals and ordinary citizens, were holding banners, inscribed with slogans about the day.

The event was organised byDigital Diabetes Foundation, an organization aiming to establish a diabetes centre of excellence in Rawalakot to provide treatment to diabetic persons digitally through US based endocrinologists by utilizing the latest telehealth technology.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2024