Qatar to make diabetes test mandatory
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2015
Qatar plans to make diabetes tests mandatory for all in order to tackle the disease at an early stage and take preventive measures, said Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of Public Health at the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Arab Diabetes Congress, he was quoted by The Peninsula as saying that the Council will soon launch a National Strategy to curb diabetes. The strategy will focus on disease prevention, early detection and treatment.
Providing treatment of international standards with a view to curbing the complications of types 1 and 2 of diabetes will be a key aspect of the strategy, said Dr Al Thani. Treatment will also be covered under the compulsory national health insurance scheme.
Around 20% of the GCC population suffer from type 2 diabetes, Dr Al Thani said. He cited a 2012 survey showing that 16.7% of the Qatari population is diabetic, making Qatar one of the 10 top countries battling the disease.
The Innovation Institute, based in California, said that the incidence of diabetes is rising in the Middle East in part because of the area’s rapid economic development, which has cultivated a more sedentary lifestyle. Greater wealth is also associated with a less nutrient-dense diet. These two changes combined lead to higher rates of obesity, which adds stress to the body and makes it more difficult to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.
Without innovation and dramatic new solutions, the growing economic prosperity throughout the GCC will be threatened by the very dire cost consequences of diabetes to GCC nationals and their governments. Diabetes treatment accounts for approximately 40% of the UAE’s overall healthcare expenditure, said the Institute.