Officials from MoPH, HMC, PHCC, QDA, Novo Nordisk, CNA-Q and Accreditation Canada during a symposium on ‘Access to Diabetes Care, 100 Years of Insulin: Celebrating a Legacy’.
Doha: Under the patronage of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), College of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q) organised ‘Access to Diabetes Care, 100 Years of Insulin: Celebrating a Legacy’ symposium yesterday, with the participation and support of MoPH, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA).
The event was organised in cooperation with Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company.
The symposium was held in line with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) theme 2021–2023. The symposium goals are aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030 and Qatar National Diabetes Strategy (2016–2022) pillars. The sessions aim to increase public awareness and equip health care professionals with knowledge to provide optimum care to individuals living with diabetes in the State of Qatar.
The symposium was attended by Dr. Hamad Eid Al Romaihi, Manager of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control, MoPH; Prof. Andrew Boulton, President of IDF for 2020-2021 and President of the Worldwide Initiative for Diabetes Education and Chair of EURADIA (European Alliance for Diabetes Research); Dr. Salem Al Naemi, President of CNA-Q; Prof. Abdul Badi Abou Samra, Co–Chair of Qatar National Diabetes Committee, MoPH, Chief Quality Officer and Director of Qatar Metabolic Institute at HMC; Prof. Shahrad Taheri, Director of the National Obesity Center, HMC and Chair of the Research Sub-Committee of the National Diabetes Strategy; Dr. Akin Aksekili, Vice-President and General Manager of Novo Nordisk company and many notable guests and speakers from MoPH, HMC, PHCC, QDA, Novo Nordisk, CNA-Q and Accreditation Canada.
Dr. Salem Al Naemi emphasised the importance of diabetes education and management.
He said: “One of the fundamental components of diabetes care is access to education and psychological support. People living with diabetes need ongoing education to manage their condition. To that end, CNA-Q has been working relentlessly with many partners, and particularly HMC through ‘The fundamentals of diabetes education’ programme, to raise awareness about diabetes and equip health care professionals with skills to empower patients to self-manage their condition on the long term.
“Given the prevalence of diabetes in Qatar, CNA-Q has also tailored programs that respond to a pressing need in the healthcare sector. A new and unique Master of Applied Science in Diabetes Care and Patient Education program has been launched with the aim of enriching the skills and competencies of diabetes educators in Qatar.”
Prof. Abou Samra, Co-Chair of the National Diabetes Committee and Director of QMI, said one of the challenges identified early by the National Diabetes Committee was the insufficiency of educators in the system to support physicians and educate patients, as well the lack of diabetes-specific education programmes in Qatar.
Pillar 4 “Human Capability and Capacity Building” of the National Diabetes Strategy strives to accentuate the need to identify -local- national level approaches to address the shortages in this culturally sensitive profession. The partnership of HMC with CNA-Q for the development of “The fundamentals of diabetes education program” has been a response to this need.
The National Diabetes Committee aims to further enrich training and education opportunities related to diabetes for healthcare professionals and people with diabetes.
Along with the symposium, an exhibition was held and included educational institutions and health organisations with the aim of highlighting the necessity to improve access to diabetes care and the important role that diabetes healthcare professionals play in patient education.
