About 500 delegates are participating in the Second Annual Arab Diabetes Medical Congress that began yesterday in Doha.

Inaugurating the three-day congress at City Center Rotana Doha, Dr. Abdulla al-Hamaq, executive director of Qatar Diabetes Association – Qatar Foundation said that the congress covers a wide range of topics related to diabetes.
“Recent figures from the seventh edition of the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas indicate that the number of people living with diabetes around the world is expected to rise from 415 million in 2015 to 642 million by 2040. A sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits and low levels of awareness are noted as key contributors to the rapid incidence of type 2 diabetes in Middle East and North Africa,” he explained.
Dr al-Hamaq noted it was time to join in an action-oriented effort to tackle and solve the problems of diabetes and improving the knowledge about diabetes, its management, and prevention by sharing the latest, up-to-date information.
The congress focuses this year on a number of important topics related to diabetes, through scientific lectures, workshops, panel sessions. The speakers and delegates are discussing several topics such as; up to date information and strategies for prevention and control of disease, detection and prevention of Type 2 diabetes and early intervention in children and adults patients among others.
There are also sessions on the latest developments about management of fat levels disorder in blood in patients with diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents, among other important topics to limit the spread of the disease regionally.
“There is a massive necessity to fight this disease on the regional level in the forthcoming years and to grant the availability of a proper medical care for patients that can overcome the dangerous complications of the disease which affect most body functions. It is also necessary to enhance qualified medical professionals and provide them with the latest global developments about the disease, particularly research conducted in various parts of the world to raise awareness,” said Doaa Said, managing director, Maarefah Management.
More than 20 regional speakers, including experts from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) are participating. They include Dr. Mahmoud Zirie (senior consultant and head of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, HMC); Kamil M. Salamah (general secretary, Saudi Diabetes & Endocrine Association); Moataz Basha (director of Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, HMC), and Dabia al-Muhannadi, senior consultant, Endocrinology and Diabetes, lead of Adult Insulin Pump Programme, HMC).
The congress is held in collaboration with the Qatar Diabetes Association, supported by Rashid Centre for Diabetes and Research, the Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association, Saudi Pharmaceutical Society and organised by Maarefah Management.

Related Story