UAE health authorities have joined countries across the world in celebrating World Diabetes Day. Global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, in collaboration with the Embassy of Denmark, organised a ceremony at Burj Plaza in Downtown Dubai to mark the occasion.

During the event, UAE's authorities underlined the achievements made by the Emirati leadership and health sector in enhancing the level of healthcare services provided to people with diabetes.

Authorities also highlighted various future initiatives and technologies adopted by the UAE to strengthen the treatment and prevention of diabetes across the country while improving the results of the National Diabetes Index.

The ceremony also saw Burj Khalifa lit up with the global diabetes logo. The occasion coincided with the centenary of the discovery of insulin, one of the greatest medical discoveries.

As part of the celebration, local health authorities and strategic partners also reviewed potential ways to enhance cooperation, boost public awareness of diabetes and develop initiatives and technologies to prevent the illness.

Participants further called on all stakeholders to step up their efforts to limit the spread of the disease as well as improve the quality of life of the community. The ceremony laid emphasis on discussing national and international policies, strategies and innovations to develop new treatment methods and facilitate necessary changes to contain the impact of diabetes in the region.

Addressing the gathering, Mads Bo Larsen, Vice President and UAE General Manager at Novo Nordisk, underscored the major goal of all parties participating in the event.

"It is to strengthen cooperation to combat diabetes, bring about a positive change, improve people’s access to health care services and enhance the quality of their lives," Mads Bo Larsen said.

He further hailed the achievements made by the UAE health sector in the global fight against diabetes, underlining the country’s integrated and sustained efforts. in the process. The UAE launched various innovative initiatives and projects to provide world-class health and treatment services to patients in need.

Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin, Ambassador of Denmark to the UAE, urged all stakeholders to boost their measures to fight diabetes, noting that it has evolved to be one of the most serious non-communicable diseases affecting over 500 million people in the world.

The ambassador pointed out that UAE and Denmark health authorities are ensuring all possible efforts to fight diabetes through developing innovative treatments and introducing new healthcare strategies. The main aim of the initiatives includes the enhancement of access to various healthcare services for all patients alike.

Expressing delight in participating in the event, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, Mellbin underlined the importance of expanding research and development of new treatment solutions to fight the chronic disease.

In this regard, he also called for the need to enhance public-private partnerships to boost collaborations in treating the patients and supporting their families.

For his part, Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Public Health Sector, affirmed that the Ministry of Health and Prevention will leave no stones unturned to provide the best healthcare and treatment services to people with diabetes with the aim of limiting the health risks related to the disease. Dr Al Rand noted that diabetes is being given leading priority in the various initiatives and programmes launched by the ministry to provide the best quality healthcare services.

"The UAE is racing against time to develop innovative health services and is constantly updating the National Non-Communicable Disease Control Policy. This comes in line with the country’s forward-looking vision, the Principles of the 50 and is in implementation of the wise directives of the UAE leadership," Al Rand added.

Dr. Amin Hussein Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Health Regulatory Sector, stated that the event brought together eminent speakers and an exceptional audience to focus on the primary objective of reducing the prevalence of diabetes in the UAE community. The health sector is working continuously to improve the quality of life of people living with diabetes.

UAE's local health authorities are developing necessary preventive systems to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the community members while providing comprehensive and distinguished health services. It is because of these efforts that the prevalence of diabetes in the UAE has declined from 18.9% in 2010 to 11.8% in 2018.

He hailed the UAE's efforts to attract and develop innovations including medicines and devices to help individuals with diabetes in managing their condition and improving their quality of life.

Dr. Yousef Mohammed Al Serkal, Director-General of the Emirates Health Services (EHS), asserted that the UAE's state-of-the-art health system is known for its unique efficiency and flexibility in providing innovative healthcare and treatment services to people with diabetes. The UAE health sector has also introduced crucial smart digital solutions to meet the needs of diabetic patients.

"As we join the world in celebrating World Diabetes Day, we have become more mindful than ever before that the chronic disease, which affects humans of all ages, represents health, social and economic burden. we affirm our full support for multilateral efforts being made to improve the health of all individuals, promote healthy lifestyles and provide accessible preventive, curative and promotional services and hence we also renew our commitment to taking all necessary measures and measures to confront it," Dr Al Serkal added.

In addition, Matar Saeed Rashed Al Nuaimi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, stressed the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle in fighting diabetes. Al Nuaimi explained that ADPHC is providing all forms of support to the ongoing efforts in combating diabetes.

"Today, we stand together to promote awareness and direct attention towards the importance of collaboration and uniting efforts among all stakeholders to save lives, address the plague of diabetes and reduce its complications," Al Nuaimi said.

Dr. Younis Mohammed Amin Kazim, CEO of Dubai Healthcare Corporation, noted that the DHA has developed a multi-faceted robust strategy to provide critical prevention against diabetes. DHA is using AI technology and telemedicine to manage and prevent type 2 diabetes that is caused due to obesity, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

Over the year, the DHA has implemented various policies and created health-supporting environments to reduce risks related to diabetes. The DHA has been working towards providing the highest quality of diabetic care with the aim of preventing the disease and adopting healthy lifestyle choices.

"All our primary healthcare centres act as gatekeepers to ensure prevention as well as early treatment, specialist referrals and timely care. We also have endocrinology and paediatric endocrinology units at Dubai hospital and we have a dedicated Dubai Diabetes Centre that provides the highest quality of multidisciplinary diabetes care," Kazim added.

At the same time, Howard Gough, Chairman of Advisory Committee at TruDoc Healthcare, called on all stakeholders to regularly monitor the unmet and unique needs of people with diabetes. In this regard, he highlighted the unique hybrid model of care provided by TruDoc.

Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman & CEO, Landmark Group, also highlighted the need for collaborations between leaders and pharmaceutical companies across the global healthcare ecosystem to provide optimum support to patients.

"At Landmark Group, driving diabetes awareness is very close to our hearts. We started driving this cause passionately since 2009, with our flagship CSR initiative, Beat Diabetes," Jagtiani said.

She invited all participants to the upcoming 12th edition of the Beat Diabetes event hosted by the landmark Group on November 26 at Zaabeel Park.

"The discovery of insulin transformed the way this chronic disease is managed. Our strategic partnership with Novo Nordisk in commemorating 100 years of insulin discovery demonstrates our shared objective of raising awareness and contributing towards diabetes research and treatment," Jagtiani added.

In conclusion, Ashish Koshy, G42 Healthcare CEO, affirmed the commitment of the G42 Healthcare in developing sustainable solutions to manage the chronic disease. G42 Healthcare has been innovating and deploying holistic and scalable AI solutions with the aim of unlocking the potential of preventive care for all patients.

 WAM