12% of GCC’s ministries of health budgets spent on Diabetes

RAK Airways, the youngest national carrier of the UAE, flew in children into UAE from Kuwait, Doha and Khartoum for the Fifth Annual Children Diabetes Camp, organised by Ras Al Khaimah, Medical District, in UAE. Omar Jahameh, CEO of RAK Airways, said: “A healthy society adds life to any nation and RAK Airways loves to contribute effectively to build a healthy society. Diabetes in children is a growing concern in the GCC and RAK Airways is indeed privileged to partner with the Ras Al Khaimah Medical District, to impart knowledge of diabetes to the society, to homes and families.” Dr. Yasser Al Nuaimi, Director of Ras Al Khaimah Medical District said: “Since 2008, it has indeed been the opportunity of Ras Al Khaimah to have hosted four successful Annual Children’s Diabetes Camps, with 2012 being the fifth camp. Diabetes is a growing concern in the GCC. Statistics reveal that in the world calendar, ranking 1 to 10, a number of GCC countries are spotted as having the highest prevalence of diabetes. Nationals of UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are reported as having an acute level of diabetes, draining significant amounts of national budget towards healthcare.” Dr. Yasser confirmed reports which stated that 12 per cent of GCC’s ministries of health budget is spent for healthcare of ‘Type 1 Diabetes. D”Each year we impact the camp with definite focus on imparting practical skills to the participants to manage diabetes, in their own lives. The recent camp saw participation from the Diabetes Associations of several GCC countries. Most of the individual participants belonged to the age group of 8 to 14, diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. We focused on improving the social abilities of these children, by imparting nutrition values, the importance of fitness and the skill to intake insulin and manage blood sugar level,” he said. The five-day camp was informative. It was meticulously managed by a dedicated team of professionals. Divided into teams of five, each team was managed by one supervisor with the help of 20 nurses and 4 doctors. 120 children were taught to manage ‘Type 1 Diabetes’ effectively. Dr. Yasser said: “In ‘Type 1 Diabetes’, the meal times and insulin dose are very important. At the camp, dedicated team of doctors, nurses and supervisors were kept on their toes managing and overseeing seven meal times of each of the participants, as well as making sure that their intake of insulin and meals were on time. The host hotel was ACACIA, in Ras Al Khaimah and one designated nutritionist, was solely responsible to oversee the menu for every meal, making sure that the diet was strictly maintained during the five days of the camp.” Dr. R. Kalavathy, clinical dietician at the camp agrees that it was indeed a meticulous planning strategy that has proven the success of the camp. “Planned three meals and three snacks including the night snacks prevented any drop in blood sugar among the children during the camp days.”