• “Every year, around 400,000 amputations are unfortunately being carried out in Pakistan due to diabetic foot”
• Prof Abdul Basit said diabetes is spreading like fire in Pakistan, where 33 million people are living with the lifestyle disease.
• Prof. Noshad Shaikh in his address termed diabetes as a ‘real emerging threat’ for Pakistan.

KARACHI: The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad has officially launched  Diabetes Registry of Pakistan (DROP) to collect nationwide data on Type-1 and Type-2 diabetics.

“We have officially been informed by the Executive Director NIH Islamabad General Amer Ikram that NIH has formally taken over the Diabetes Registry of Pakistan (DROP) from the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE). DROP has now become the official diabetes registry of Pakistan through a government notification and from now onwards, we would be having official notational data of diabetes in Pakistan”, Prof. Abdul Basit, President of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region told an international conference held here.

“Every year, around 400,000 amputations are unfortunately being carried out in Pakistan due to diabetic foot, which is a primary complication of diabetes. Diabetes is spreading like fire in Pakistan, where 33 million people are living with the lifestyle disease and if preventives measures would not be taken, the number of diabetics would be doubled by 2032 in the country”, he warned.

He maintained that 50 percent of amputations can be prevented by establishing foot clinics across the country where general physicians trained to take care of foot ulcers can take care of the wounds and in case of complications.

“We at BIDE have established 118-foot clinics in Sindh, Punjab, and some other parts of the country where the amputation rate has dropped to 75 percent due to early detection and treatment of foot ulcers. We have also reduced the incidence of foot ulcers to zero percent in people with diabetes by providing them with specialized footwear”, Prof. Abdul Basit informed.

President of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Prof. Noshad Shaikh in his presidential address termed diabetes as a ‘real emerging threat’ for Pakistan, saying by 2032, around 66 million people would be living with diabetes in Pakistan, and managing health needs of such a large population would be impossible for the health authorities in Pakistan.

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Renowned diabetologist Prof. Zahid Miyan said diabetic foot clinics had saved thousands of lives across Pakistan by preventing amputations and urged the corporate sector to come forward and help the establishment of 3000 diabetic foot clinics across Pakistan.