The growing burden of diabetes is one of the most difficult problems we have and there is a large number of people who are overweight and suffer from diabetes plus cardiovascular diseases in Fiji, says the Minister for Health Dr Neil Sharma.
Dr Sharma said diabetes not only affects one part of the body but it has multiple effects, which damages one’s eyes, kidney and heart.
“It is not only diabetes, which greatly affects you but it is the effect of the diabetes on your eyes where people become blind with cataract, retinopathy and the other effect is on the heart when it blocks the blood vessels and develops cardiovascular diseases resulting in people die of a heart attack.
“The third effect is the kidney diseases which follows and as a result we are ending up with a lot of end stage kidney diseases and if we didn’t have the facilities of Kidney Foundation of Fiji (KFOF) and the facility to do hemodialysis a lot of these people would have died of kidney diseases,” Dr Sharma said.
The Ministry of Health, he said is looking at ways to prevent diabetes and than implement appropriate programmes to address the issue of lifestyle diseases so people are educated about the importance of exercise and healthy eating habits.
“We also looking at preventing diabetes by optimising the drugs and medications we have so that we can get the latest we have in the medications so that it prevents complications from taking place,” Dr Sharma said.
He said at this stage the Ministry is consolidating on various development programs, which will allow for improvement in the quality of diabetes eye care services provided through the new Pacific Eye Institute and Diabetic Eye Care Clinic now opened at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH).
“Particularly the new Diabetic Eye Care Clinic recently opened at CWMH will provide an extensive care to the patients as it has better photography facilities, laser facilities so these angles will be part of the component.”
Apart from the new eye clinic at CWMH, Dr Sharma said the Ministry would be shortly establishing well-equipped and facilitated Diabetes Renal Hub centres.
“Now these hub centres will be a one stop shop for diabetes and kidney diseases to be establishment at Lautoka and Labasa along with our national diabetic centre here in Suva.
He said the hub centres will also provide timely data and statistics on diabetics from the three centres, which will provide a clear indication as to where Fiji stands in terms of the increasing burden of diabetes and Non-Communicable Diseases in Fiji.