Diabetes is on the increase worldwide, including Malta. A National Diabetes Plan is being compiled which should lay the way forward to continue improving on the current health system and address shortcomings.

Meanwhile, it is important to continue raising awareness and education on diabetes. One of the entities taking an active role in the dissemination of information and providing support to diabetes sufferers is the Malta Diabetes Asso­ciation, a voluntary non-profit-making entity whose committee is made up of persons with diabetes, parents of children with diabetes and also paramedics.

The organisation, founded in 1981, targets diabetes sufferers, their families, and the public so they can recognise the symptoms of diabetes and eliminate the stigma associated with the disease.

The association holds live-ins for teenage members, an annual summer camp for children and teenagers with diabetes and publishes a bi-annual magazine called Id-Diabete u Saħħtek.

It also has a family support group and a juvenile support group named Daisy (Diabetes Association in Support of Youth), to tackle the specific problems faced by young people suffering from diabetes.

Its premises in Melita Street, Valletta, act as a meeting place where monthly educational talks and discussions are held. For larger groups, the talks are held at the Catholic Institute in Floriana.

For World Diabetes Day, which falls today, the association is organising free blood glucose monitoring for everyone, to emphasise the importance of regular screening, especially among those who have a family history of diabetes.

Association representatives will be at the Point Shopping Complex, Tigné, Sliema, between 9am and 1pm tomorrow. There will also be a diabetes education corner at Piazza Tigné with talks on diet, general information on diabetes and its complications and oral hygiene.

For more information, visit the website www.diabetesmalta.org.

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