Cyprus is joining a global awareness campaign over diabetes, as one in every ten Cypriots is diagnosed with the disease, said the Health Ministry.
The ministry’s National Diabetes Committee, on the occasion of World Diabetes Day (14 November), said that it is stepping up its awareness campaign.
The International Diabetes Federation’s global campaign for 2021-2023 is focused on “Access to holistic care”, informing the public about risks to reduce rising cases of diabetes worldwide.
According to the Federation’s data, one in 10 adults worldwide lives with diabetes.
There is a growing list of countries where one in five or more of the adult population has diabetes. Since 2000 diabetes has more than doubled, from 4.6% of the population to 10.5% today.
Without sufficient action to address the situation, it is predicted that by 2030 it will increase to 11.3% of the world’s population.
Health Ministry spokesperson Konstantinos Athanasiou confirmed to the Financial Mirror that the situation in Cyprus is grim.
“An estimated 10% of the island’s population suffers from diabetes, recording a significant increase in recent years”.
Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela told the media: “The ministry, taking into account the increasing trend of diabetes cases, is updating the National Diabetes Strategy.”
“The Ministry of Health aims to improve the diabetes clinics in state hospitals continuously as well as to encourage the creation of holistic care centres in the private sector”.
He also said that emphasis is placed on education, encouraging the continuous training of doctors, nurses and dieticians to offer patients modern treatment methods.
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy.
Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream.
When your blood sugar increases, it signals your pancreas to release insulin.
Insulin acts as a key to letting the blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy.
With diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should.
When there isn’t enough insulin or cells stop responding to insulin, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream.
Over time, that can cause serious health problems like heart disease, vision loss, and kidney failure.
There isn’t a cure for diabetes, but losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active do help.
