RIYADH – In recognition of the World Diabetes Day (WDD), Global Healthcare leader, Merck Sharpe & Dohme (MSD), announced its regional program to create awareness about Healthy living & Diabetes to its internal staff in all main cities of Saudi Arabia which include Riyadh, Jeddah and AL-Khobar. Diabetes awareness is particularly important as the prevalence of the disease is on the rise and most people living with diabetes do not have satisfactory control of the condition. The Kingdom itself has seen a significant increase in the number of diabetes cases, with 3.6 million cases of diabetes reported in Saudi Arabia in 2013, highlighting the global epidemic of the illness. “Living a healthy lifestyle including following a proper diet with regular exercise is important for those at risk of developing diabetes as well as people living with the illness,'' said Medhat Riad, Managing Director, MSD Saudi Arabia. “We are committed to raising awareness of the health risks faced by individuals and will continue to support our team and healthcare professionals in the Kingdom with important information on Type 2 diabetes.” To commemorate WDD, MSD Saudi Arabia has launched key activities for its employees under the International Diabetes Federation's 2014 theme, ‘Healthy Living and Diabetes''.
The MSD Saudi launched a website named (Diabetes in Balance) to help patients with diabetes type II better manage and treat the disease, which is an educational source on a dedicated Website for people who suffer from diabetes and their caregivers, and is available in both Arabic (www.type2-diabetes.sa.com) and English (www.diabetes-in-balance.sa.com) and is also approved by Saudi Food and Drug Administration. The online tool offers a range of easy-to-understand resources to support the patients such as a graph of hypoglycemia to facilitate discussion about the symptoms of the potential of hypoglycemia and diabetes type 2 between patients and physicians, including the distribution of the Patient spoon with the objective to reduce utilized sugar quantities. An MSD booth has been set-up in the 2nd International Conference of Endocrinology and Diabetes (2nd ICED) in partnership with the Saudi Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (SSEM), providing healthcare professionals with supporting materials and flyers to facilitate the discussion of the potential symptoms of hypoglycemia and type-2 diabetes between patients and physicians. — SG
