Dr. Wael Qassem (left) and Dr. Atallah Al-Ruhaily, President of SSEM during the signing of accord. RIYDAH – MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) pharmaceutical company launched diabetes education program for healthcare professionals in collaboration with the Saudi Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism (SSEM) at a signing ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Riyadh Monday. Designed to help support healthcare professionals in addressing the growing diabetes epidemic in Saudi Arabia, the education program will provide training in the latest diabetes healthcare management techniques, to 75 professionals. Training will be provided by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in partnership with Leicester University, with healthcare professionals receiving a five-day training course from a panel of local and international faculty members. Talking about the growing urgency to address diabetes in Saudi Arabia, Professor Mourad Abdel Kareem El Mourad, Senior Advisor to the Diabetes National Program, Ministry of Health, said "in the 1980's only around 5 percent of the population was suffering from diabetes. Today, this number has more than tripled. Due to a change in living and dietary habits and rising rates of obesity, Saudi Arabians have become increasingly susceptible to type 2 diabetes." Dr. Atallah Al-Ruhaily, President of SSEM, said "the growing number of diabetics in Saudi Arabia is extremely alarming. Right now we rank 7th in the world in terms of diabetes prevalence and face some of the highest diabetes related mortality rates in the region. Offering our healthcare professionals with the latest information and tools to best manage diabetic care will be a crucial way for us to continue fighting this ongoing epidemic. Despite the crucial importance of diabetes healthcare, the educational system in this regard still requires improvements, better guidelines and qualified healthcare providers to bring about a more comprehensive understanding of the disease." Dr. Wail Al-Qasim, General Manager, Saudi Arabia, MSD. "This program will be crucial to ensuring that healthcare professionals are able to support their patients in the management and maintenance of their diabetes, but, even more importantly, are able to educate them and create greater awareness of the many potentially life threatening complications that uncontrolled diabetes can led to." "As a leading healthcare company worldwide, MSD will support local healthcare providers and reduce the disease burden on local communities. Diabetes is one of our number one concerns in the Middle East region. In 2011 the IDF estimated that 19 percent of Saudi Arabia's adult population already suffers from diabetes," said It is only through greater awareness that we can truly begin to address diabetes in Saudi Arabia"
