An initiative – ‘Diabetes Prevention through Religious Leaders’ – was launched on Sunday.
BADAS Secretary General Mohammad Sayef Uddin, Coordinator, Diabetes Prevention through religious leaders in Bangladesh initiative Bishwajit Bhowmik and Assistant Director and Deputy Programme Manager of NCDs Control of DGHS Abdul Alim were present at the launching press meet held at BADAS.
Religious leaders (imams) will work to create awareness on healthy lifestyle and eating to prevent diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country with a view to supporting the government’s vision to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The objectives of this project are to organise training on healthy lifestyle for prevention and care of diabetes and other NCDs for religious leaders (imams) and improve community awareness to prevent and control NCDs, said BADAS President Prof AK Azad Khan.
The World Health Organization has identified four major NCDs - diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory disease.
Imams will be recruited as community health advocates ensuring that people with diabetes get access to diabetes care and education on the prevention of others NCDs.
Imams from each upazila will be recruited and trained at the initial stage.
They will deliver khutba (sermons) on the prevention of diabetes and other NCDs during Jum’a prayers each Friday.
A khutba in his regard has been finalised with the approval of the Islamic Foundation and that will be sent to the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. The approved khutba will be shared in other Islamic countries in the future, said a media release.
Free diabetes screening of 250,000 people will be done under the initiative. People living with diabetes can call to Ibrahim Helpline 10614 to discuss with specialist doctors.
Diabetes is not only a health crisis but also a burden on the health sector and the economy as it causes devastating personal suffering and drives families into poverty, said Additional Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof AHM Enayet Hossain.
The rising burden of diabetes is growing at an alarming rate as around 57 percent people living with diabetes do not know they have it, which makes Bangladesh the 10th largest country with people suffering from undiagnosed diabetes, according to International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
Some 68 percent of deaths in Bangladesh are due to non-communicable disease (NCDs) including diabetes and other chronic health conditions including old age complications, according to a survey of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.