OPS exhorta a reforzar los servicios de atención primaria para ofrecer una atención oportuna y de calidad a las personas con diabetes – OPS/OMS

Mexico City, November 14, 2023 (PAHO)- Within the framework of the World Diabetes DayThe Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) called to strengthen primary health care services for people with diabetes, and thus prevent complications that cause disability and premature death.

“The time has come to strengthen primary care services to offer timely and quality diabetes care,” said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO, in a video message. “This encompasses early detection, effective management, which includes the provision of diagnostic supplies; access to life-saving medications such as insulin; treatment of complications; and guidance on diet and physical activity,” he explained.

The regional commemoration of World Diabetes Day It took place today in Mexico City, in an event attended by Dr. Ruy López Ridaura, Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion of the Ministry of Health in Mexico; Dr. José Moya, PAHO Representative in Mexico; and Slim Slama, head of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Management Unit of the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the Department of NCDs in the WHO UHC Division, sent a recorded message.

In the Americas region, around 62 million people suffer from diabetes, mainly type 2. It is estimated that around a third of people with diabetes are undiagnosed. More than 380,000 people die each year from diabetes and its complications.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people with diabetes were one of the groups at highest risk of serious illness and death. At the same time, primary care health services, including those that care for people with this disease, suffered interruptions.

The prevalence of diabetes has experienced an accelerated increase in recent decades in the region, driven, among other factors, by high rates of obesity and overweight and changes in lifestyles. The PAHO representative in Mexico highlighted the importance of establishing public health policies for the prevention of diabetes, such as the promotion of healthier eating habits. “A great advance is the inclusion of warnings on packaging – octagon system – as well as taxes on sugary drinks,” he said. Dr. Moya insisted on the importance of increasing access and availability of medications and technologies for early diagnosis and adequate control of the disease, in order to avoid or delay the complications of diabetes. “A lot of progress has been made, but challenges still remain,” he concluded.

Adapt the WHO recommendations to the reality of the countries

During the event, WHO presented a Global Diabetes Pact, launched in 2021 to improve diabetes updating and care to contribute to global goals to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one third. by 2030. The Compact seeks to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and ensure that all people diagnosed have access to quality, equitable and affordable care and treatment. Its general objective is to support countries in the development, implementation and evaluation of the most cost-effective programs with the greatest impact to prevent and control diabetes.

“The vision of the Global Diabetes Pact can only be fully achieved when countries and regions take ownership and adapt WHO recommendations to their context,” said Slama, head of WHO’s NCD Management Unit. . He highlighted the importance of marking this World Diabetes Day in Mexico, given that only by adapting the Pact to the regions and countries can the gaps in diabetes care be overcome, obviously.

In this sense, the region of the Americas is in a process of adapting at the national level the recommendations for the care of people with diabetes. At the event, the experiences of Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in the development of diabetes clinical pathways were presented, a tool with the most important clinical recommendations to detect, diagnose and adequately treat the disease.

Best for NCD care

During the event, Silvana Luciani, head of PAHO’s NCD, Violence and Trauma Unit, presented the main components of PAHO’s new “Better Care for NCDs” initiative, aimed at facilitating actions in primary health care. . to tackle diabetes and other NCDs. This initiative builds on existing efforts, such as HEARTS in the Americas, and is guided by the principle of equity, focusing on bringing health services through primary care to underserved populations.

“The idea is to have an integrated package for non-communicable diseases, which includes not only hypertension, but also diabetes, asthma, cancer screening and care for tobacco cessation, among other interventions,” Luciani explained. “We want to scale and expand what is being done, starting with an assessment of needs and gaps in primary care services and then expanding them.

The new initiative is articulated in six strategies that cover, in addition to the initial evaluation, the expansion of the resolution capacity of health workers, the expansion of community work and the improvement of access to medicines and technologies. Precisely, the PAHO Strategic Fund constitutes a key mechanism for its acquisition at enormous prices by countries.

Dr. Nora Girón, regional advisor of the PAHO Strategic Fund, presented in detail the support that this mechanism provides to the countries of the region for the acquisition of essential medicines and health technologies, along with technical support throughout the process. Her intervention was followed by a panel discussion on barriers and opportunities in diabetes medications and technologies, in which representatives from Brazil, Chile, Cuba and Mexico participated.