Speakers tell seminar
Only one fourth of the total diabetes patients receive treatment in the country for lack of service and awareness, said speakers at a press conference yesterday.
Bangladesh Diabetic Society (BADAS) arranged the conference at its auditorium at Birdem hospital, ahead of the World Diabetes Day to be observed today.
They said diabetes cases have been increasing in the country day by day with 60 lakh people currently suffering from the disease.
If the cases of diabetes continue to rise in this way, the number of patients would cross one crore by 2020, they said.
Urbanisation, lack of physical activities, and fast food habit among people are the main reasons for having type-2 diabetes. Changing in lifestyle can prevent 70 percent of the cases, said the speakers.
They also stressed the need for increasing awareness on diabetes and its prevention.
The speakers suggested that incorporating messages on diabetes in school curriculum, setting up playground at every schools, providing health education at the hospitals and clinics, and using information technologies to disseminate awareness messages.
BADAS President Prof AK Azad Chowdhury, Secretary General Mohammad Saif Uddin, and Dr Arup Ratan Chaudhury spoke at the programme among others.
As elsewhere across the globe, Bangladesh also observes the World Diabetes Day today with the slogan ”Let’s take the control of Diabetes now.”
BADAS will organise a rally and a discussion and will provide free testing of blood sugar at different places in the capital.
It will also hold question answer session with the expert doctors at its auditorium and will broadcast awareness messages on electronic media.
An estimated three crore people were suffering from diabetes in 1985 across the globe. It reached to 25 crore just after 25 years. If it cannot be prevented, the number would reach to 38 crore within the next 20 years.
