‘Timely diagnosis helps control diabetes’

LAHORE: An awareness seminar for prevention of diabetes was organised on World Diabetes Day to create awareness among people for prevention, control and treatment of the disease.

Provincial Health Minister Prof Dr Yasmin Rashid was the chief guest at the event. Consultant endocrinologist Dr Syed Abbas Raza was the keynote speaker while a large number of medical practitioners, pathologists and students also participated in the event.

The Punjab health minister stressed on timely diagnosis of diabetes to avoid further medical complications. A number of physical disorders are faced by female diabetics during their pregnancy, she said.

The Punjab Health Department will soon initiate health education and awareness programme in the government schools, she added. Dr Abbas Raza said that every fourth person was affected by diabetes in Pakistan. The diabetes also causes many other issues like heart attack and kidney failure. Prof Akhtar Sohail Chughtai said diabetes was not a concern of any single organisation; every individual and institution must play its role in combating the disease.

walk: Punjab Health Services Director General Dr Munir Ahmed has said diabetes is spreading rapidly in Pakistan, which is currently affecting around 26% of the population of the country.

He said diabetes may cause cardiac arrest, kidney diseases and dysfunction of various body parts. He said it was very important for the public to get aware of the disease. Diabetes is a curable disease which can be overcome by changing lifestyle, taking balanced diet and daily exercise, he added.

The DG expressed this while taking to media during an awareness walk in connection to world diabetes day here on Wednesday. The walk started from office of Directorate General Health, Cooper Road and finished at Forest Office. Health Services Director Dr Haroon Jahangir, prevention and control of non-communicable disease Programme Manager Dr Farooq Manzoor, Deputy Programme Manager Dr Sabeen, Dr Ahmed Nadeem, Dr Nazir, Dr Azhar Saleemi, Dr Khalid Mahmood, Dr Muhammad Hussein Naqvi and Rao Alamgir also participated.

Dr Munir said free of cost facility of diabetes screening test was available in all tehsil and district hospitals of Punjab under prevention and control of non-communicable disease (NCD) programme.

Dr Farooq said diabetic patients should regularly visit doctors. He said seminars and awareness in all districts have been organised on word diabetes day.

Pneumonia Day: Punjab University Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) observed Pneumonia Day. Prof Dr Rubina Zakar, a leading public health expert and Director of the Institute, highlighted the risk factors and preventive measures so that the children could be saved from this deadly disease.

Dr Rubina argued that pneumonia was one of the leading causes of deaths in children under five years old despite being easily preventable and treatable. She stated that those living in slums and poverty-ridden areas were at the highest risk of pneumonia. She argued that pneumonia was a disease of ‘social inequality’ and marginalisation.

Each child, regardless of his/her social class, deserves access to lifesaving vaccines and medicines, it is child’s basic right. Dr Rubina Zakar warned that pneumonia is a crippling and dangerous disease and has lasting negative impact on the health of children throughout their life.