I have welcomed with great interest and satisfaction the Nationalist Party’s electoral promise that would see a future government focusing on diabetes, a serious non-communicable disease often referred to as the ‘silent killer’, as part of their health priorities in the next legislature.
It is encouraging to note that several calls by various stakeholders over the past months to prioritise diabetes in the national health programme are being taken on board.
Data from recent global studies demonstrate that the number of people with diabetes in 2012 reached a staggering 371 million, claiming the lives of 4.8 million persons – one every seven seconds. In Europe alone, 55 million people had diabetes, set to increase to 67 million in the next two decades.
Malta is no exception and it is estimated that 10 per cent of the population suffer from this condition. There are a considerable number of other persons who are undiagnosed.
These facts and figures justify the wise decision to focus on diabetes and the positive outcome this electoral promise could bring to us as a nation, our health and well-being.
As a parent of a teenager living with diabetes and who is involved in an NGO that works to promote diabetes and raise more awareness on this condition, I commend and applaud the PN for acknowledging diabetes as a priority health issue. This was preceded by other positive initiatives taken by the outgoing government under the guidance and leadership of Health Minister Joe Cassar, including a strategy launched about three years ago for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
This was followed by the national strategy against obesity, a campaign that promoted healthy diets and appropriate exercise to avoid obesity which may develop into diabetes over a relatively short period of time.
The focus on diabetes is now a natural continuation of these initiatives.
People with diabetes and their families, irrespective of their political beliefs, should welcome this electoral promise as it guarantees a healthier future for us. In view of the fact that diabetes is a hereditary condition, notably of in type 2 kind, it is reassuring to know that a future government would embark on a structured programme to fight it as a growing epidemic.
We now have a clear and concrete commitment that diabetes will be tackled in a systematic and coordinated approach to improve accessibility and quality of diabetes prevention and care. By placing diabetes at the centre of Malta’s health policy, there will be a focus on preventing the development of risk factors and of diabetes. This will undoubtedly be done through effective screening programmes that would check and identify people at risk.
Prioritisation of diabetes as a health issue would prevent the development of complications thanks to early diagnosis. Complications include heart disease, stroke, lower limb amputations and blindness. Overall, it would ensure that there is adequate and effective monitoring, treatment and care of people with diabetes.
Other European countries that embarked on similar initiatives and structured programmes reported lower incidence levels and a better life for those with diabetes.
It is also evident that the costs to implement such a strategy or plan would outweigh the huge expense to treat diabetes and its complications. This would undoubtedly also have a positive effect on the national health budget were the focus would be first on prevention and subsequently on care and treatment.
PN deputy leader Simon Busuttil has been serving as one of the co-chairmen of the EU Diabetes Working Group within the European Parliament since 2009. I had the privilege of working with him in my former role as president of IDF Europe.
He worked wholeheartedly for the diabetes cause. His leadership and influence in the European Parliament among colleagues from all parties led him to securing a resolution that was adopted almost unanimously in March 2012. This was a milestone for diabetes in Europe and it was thanks to his sheer determination and commitment that we managed to place diabetes as a priority health issue on the EU health agenda.
Through his party, Busuttil is now acting in a very tangible way on a local level and the PN electoral promise is testimony of this. Through the PN, he has practised what he preached. What he advocated in Europe will now, hopefully, become a reality in Malta.
I am confident that the commitment on diabetes, often referred to as the ‘national illness’, will mirror the success the Government had in fighting cancer over the past few years. The results and success rates in this field speak for themselves.
This electoral promise is good news for Malta, for us Maltese and for our families. There is nothing more reassuring knowing that serious health issues such as diabetes are being given due importance by a party aspiring to govern once again for the next five years.
www.idf.org
Chris Delicata is vice president of the International Diabetes Federation