A national strategy to tackle diabetes was launched today by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Chris Fearne.
He explained that the rate of diabetes in Malta is among the highest in Europe.
The strategy will tackle diabetes from four angles – prevention - such as through a healthy lifestyle; an updating of the medicines provided by the government; prevention of complications through screening, and data collection.
He said the list of medicines provided by the government will be updated as from January, with a cost to the government of €3 million.
Dr Fearne said that many people did not know they had diabetes, an issue which needed to be addressed so that it could be tackled early for complications to be avoided.