English
Salem A. Beshyah
Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
IJMBS 2010, 2(3):142-148
Abstract
On February 6, 2010, over 500 health care professionals gathered in Tripoli, Libya to witness two major National Health Service achievements related to the evaluation and combating the burden of non-communicable diseases. The results of the first national non-communicable diseases (STEPwise) survey were revealed and the first national diabetes care guidelines were launched. These were the fruit of collaboration of the government departments and their agencies, non-government organizations, regional and international organizations, and national scientific societies. The survey results showed an alarmingly high prevalence of non-communicable diseases [Diabetes 16.4%, Hypertension (40.6%), and overweight/obesity (63.5%)]. These can be attributed to the low rates of physical activities (43.8%) and poor dietary habits (34%). Passive smoking is common at home and the work place. However, Active smoking is very common (49.6%) and seems to start at a young age (19 years). Hypercholesterolemia affected 20.9% of the adult population. The Diabetes Care Guidelines were developed using the “derived” model by adapting regional and international guidelines to the local needs of Libyan patients. They included guidance on diagnosis, evaluation and clinical management in addition to the organizational issues. It remains for all concerned to get together to meet the challenges of non-communicable diseases and translate the guidelines to clinical practice in the real world.
Keywords: Diabetes, guidelines, Libya, Diabetes care
Link/DOI: http://journals.sfu.ca/ijmbs/index.php/ijmbs/article/view/108/192