Rashed Muhammad Al-Fawzan
Al Riyadh Newspaper
The Ministry of Health is facing untold challenges. To overcome these challenges, it needs to provide complete medical services and qualified healthcare professionals. Of course, it is extremely difficult for any health agency around the world to earn the public’s full satisfaction for the services that are provided to them. However, these services can be rated good, satisfactory or bad.
I strongly believe that the ministry’s services are good but insufficient. The International Diabetes Federation recently published statistics on diabetes, which showed that the Kingdom ranks fifth globally and third Gulf-wide in terms of obesity. The report showed that in Saudi Arabia 44 percent of women, 25 percent of men and 18 percent of children are obese.
In 2012, a report on the Kingdom’s population indicated that 7.5 million Saudis have diabetes due to sedentary lifestyles. The study, which appeared in Al-Riyadh newspaper, found that 33 percent of men do not exercise in comparison to 50 percent of women. A conference was recently held in Riyadh on the same topic and the results confirmed these frightening figures.
Dr. Kamil Salamah, the secretary general of the Saudi Diabetes and Endocrine Association, said a diabetic person costs the government $1,333 a year. The 2014 state budget, which was $236 billion, allocated around $29 billion to the health sector. The treatment of diabetic patients costs $10 billion which is 34 percent of the Ministry of Health’s budget.
This is a large percentage. What about treating obesity, osteoporosis, hepatitis, heart diseases and other illness? Is the ministry’s budget only used for buying and dispensing medicines? This is of course not the case. Apparently, the ministry is not the problem and should not be blamed. The only culprit here is the low awareness levels of the general public who do take preventive measures against diabetes.
We need a comprehensive plan to raise the public’s awareness about the danger of diabetes and obesity as well as other diseases. The Ministry of Health is not only tasked with treating people but also with raising awareness. People should follow healthy lifestyles and get regular exercise. What is the use of allocating more funds to the ministry when we do not keep a close eye on our own health and live healthy lives?
