World Diabetes Day to promote patients' rights<\/p>\n
By Stevie Emilia<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The country's once blooming economy turned out
\nsour: higher incomes have led to unhealthy diets and a sedentary
\nlifestyle that cause the incurable but treatable disease,
\ndiabetes.<\/p>\n
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, around five
\nmillion Indonesians, mostly between 35 and 50 years old, are
\nsuffering from diabetes.<\/p>\n
WHO's latest study projects that the number will rise to 12
\nmillion in 2025, putting Indonesia among the top 10 countries
\nwith diabetes cases worldwide.<\/p>\n
The other nine countries are India, China, the U.S., the
\nRussian Federation, Japan, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico and Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Yet, not many people here know much about diabetes and its
\ncomplications due to the lack of campaigns about it.<\/p>\n
Diabetes is a chronic disease caused by inherited and\/or
\nacquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, or
\nby ineffectiveness of the insulin produced.<\/p>\n
Complications include diabetic retinopathy, renal failure,
\nheart disease, diabetic neuropathy and foot ulceration and
\namputation.<\/p>\n
A few institutions, including WHO, pay attention to the need
\nto prevent the disease and its complications by observing Nov. 14
\nas World Diabetes Day.<\/p>\n
\"There's not much awareness about diabetes yet, not only here
\nin Indonesia but also in other countries, and we will try to
\nimprove that awareness a bit more,\" WHO's representative to
\nIndonesia, Robert J. Kim-Farley, told The Jakarta Post in his
\noffice.<\/p>\n
The World Diabetes Day was first celebrated in 1991 following
\nserious concern over the rising incidence of diabetes cases
\nworldwide and Nov. 14 was chosen because it was the birthday of
\nFrederick Banting, who discovered insulin.<\/p>\n
This year, the theme for World Diabetes Days is Diabetes and
\nHuman Rights, which is chosen to mark the 50th Anniversary of the
\nUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme serves as a
\nmeans to remind people about the rights of diabetes patients.<\/p>\n
\"We are mixing the two together. The reason is to try to bring
\nout the issues of medical health care, social discrimination
\ntoward those with diabetes and the inaccessibility of insulin,\"
\nKim-Farley said.<\/p>\n
He said that diabetes sufferers have the right to get
\ndiagnoses, proper treatments -- such as blood sugar level testing
\nto determine blood glucose condition and insulin to regulate
\nsugar levels -- and also advice on diet and exercise to maintain
\na healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n
They also have the rights to be monitored to avoid the onset
\nof complications, such as kidney disease, blindness or amputation
\nand the rights to be informed on the latest medical advances and
\nto education, he added.<\/p>\n
\"There's a need of education to emphasize that it's a lot more
\nexpensive to treat someone than it is to provide medicine to make
\nsure that these complications are minimized,\" Kim-Farley said.<\/p>\n
At present, medical knowledge only provides the means to
\ncontrol the sugar level of diabetes patients, while the mortality
\nrate of those with diabetes is twice that of non-sufferers.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the lack of information and knowledge about the
\ndisease make many diabetes patients here discover their condition
\nbelatedly, when they have already developed complications.<\/p>\n
Kim-Farley said that diabetes patients also have the rights to
\nget other people's understanding so as to avoid discrimination.<\/p>\n
\"Diabetes is a disease that can be controlled. People have to
\nunderstand that this is not a disease that is untreatable.
\nDiabetes is not a disease that going to be caught by somebody
\nelse, it's a non-communicable disease. And people with diabetes
\ncan be very productive and healthy with treatment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sadly, in many parts of the world, people with diabetes
\ncontinue to suffer from inadequate health care and are not
\noffered the same opportunities to learn about the proper
\ntreatment of this serious condition, he said.<\/p>\n
For instance, those seeking employment frequently found
\nthemselves discriminated against but did not always have an
\nattentive audience to which they can turn for help.<\/p>\n
With the present economic crisis here in Indonesia, there
\nwould be more concern about diabetes and human rights, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I think that access to health care will become more
\nproblematic because of the crisis. The problem is if you don't
\nhave the access to health care, diabetes will lead to a number of
\ncomplications,\" said Kim-Farley, referring to limited and even
\nworse health access in remote areas here.<\/p>\n
First of all, he said, there would complications for those who
\ndependent upon insulin.<\/p>\n
\"They need insulin for their own survival. If they don't have
\ninsulin, they die. For those who are not dependent upon insulin
\nand don't have proper control of their blood sugar level, there
\nare many complications due to the disease,\" Kim-Farley said.<\/p>",
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