“Diabetes shouldn’t be a political issue, so as politicians and legislators, we are duty bound to do all that is necessary to reduce the impact of this epidemic, which is on the rise.”

This was the gist of an address by MEP Francis Zammit Dimech, who co-chairs the European Parliament’s EU Diabetes Working Group, at a conference themed ‘Type 2 Diabetes Across the World: The 21st Century Epidemic’.

The conference was held under the auspices of President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at San Anton Palace in Attard.

Leading endocrinologist Andrew Boulton, Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester, also spoke about diabetes.

Dr Zammit Dimech referred to recent statistics by the International Diabetes Federation, which show that in 2017 there were around 425 million adults worldwide suffering from diabetes, a figure that is expected to rise to around 629 million by 2045.

In the European Union only, in 2017, there were 58 million people living with diabetes and by 2040 it is estimated that there will be 67 million sufferers.

The President said she believed it was time to explore the possibility of introducing national screening to combat diabetes. While praising Dr Zammit Dimech and the Malta Diabetes Association for such initiatives, she urged the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department to carry on with their good work in promoting awareness about this condition.

The conference, which was organised with the collaboration of the Malta Diabetes Association and Narrative Structures, was also addressed by Prof. Stephen Fava, chairman of the Diabetes Clinic at Mater Dei Hospital, as well as by MDA vice president Chris Delicata.