The World Diabetes Foundation has invested 2.2 million dollars in various projects in Mexico to support health authorities and non -governmental organizations to improve medical care and raise awareness about this condition.
The mission of the Foundation is to support countries to face and prevent diabetes through the training of health professionals, as well as bring necessary equipment for diagnosis and treatment in marginalized communities, the programs coordinator of the programs of theWorld Foundation and Regional Advisor for Latin America, Bent Lautrup-Nielsen.
In poor communities, health promoters who collaborate in clinics are trained to give advice to patients in how to carry a nutritional diet and the benefits of exercise practice, as well as awareness campaigns, he said.
In Mexico it is estimated that 15 percent of adults over 20 years suffer from diabetes and many cases are not diagnosed, so a more realistic calculation would indicate that there are more than six million diabetics, an alarming figure and that represents prevalenceHighest in Latin America, he said.
"We have recognized that it is also important to do operational research, that is, pilot projects to see if a model works or not", such as the three plans against the disease that the foundation with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP).
One of the strategies against the disease is the analysis of diabetic retinopathy, one of the most serious and common complications of the sick, so the study aims to face this ocular complication in a better way and avoid blindness.
The second project focuses on the prevention of the disease in indigenous populations in Morelos, since the incidence of diabetes in these communities is not known, in addition the traditional food they carried was modified.
“In a very short time, the style of eating changed, for an unhealthy style with processed food and sugary drinks (…) We hope that this project can provide clear data on the incidence and have more evidence of how to help this marginalized group,Lautrup-Nielsen said, who added that the other project focuses on studying diabetes in pregnant women.
As for the serious problem of obesity and diabetes that Mexico suffers, the specialist stressed that something urgent has to be done, since the rates of child and youth obesity will continue to grow and the prevalence of diabetes will increase in five to ten years.
With the above, Mexico will not fulfill one of the goals of the action plan against chronic diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) that they defined by 2020, he said.
The specialist acknowledged that at the federal and state level the prioritization of diabetes is increasing, however, he considered that the strategy against this evil needs an alliance of all the actors of society, schools, families, communities, food industry and the systemHealth, especially in primary care, to reverse the situation of the country.
This organization, which also works with the Health Secretariats of the states of Mexico, Yucatán, Campeche, hopes to expand its investments in the country, since the specialist says that more resources are missing to combat the disease.
