Minister of Health Popi Kanari has said that according to data from the International Diabetes Federation one in 10 adults worldwide live with diabetes, while in Cyprus 12.7% of the population has been diagnosed with the disease. Speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the World Diabetes Day, she pointed out that since 2000 diabetes cases have redoubled, from 4.6% of the world’s population to 10.5% today. Without sufficient action to address the problem, it is predicted that by 2030 this percentage will increase to 11.3%, she continued. Therefore, Kanari said, raising awareness among the public to adopt a healthy diet, physical exercise and a way of living that will enhance the prevention of diabetes, is deemed as necessary. She noted that diabetes does not only concern the patients and the health system, but the whole society and the responsibility for dealing with it must be a collective one. For this reason, she said, the Ministry of Health is taking into account the increasing trend of diabetes cases as well as the new data in the field of Health, and is promoting through the National Diabetes Committee the updating of the National Strategy for the prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and care. She added that the Ministry of Health aims to continuously improve the diabetes clinics in state hospitals as well as to encourage the creation of such holistic centers in the private sector as well. Among the important actions that have been implemented is the operation of the specialized Pediatric-Diabetology Clinic at Makarios Hospital, she said.
Source: Cyprus News Agency