400000 losing legs people are being amputated annually in Pakistan due to diabetic foot, a primary complication of diabetes, as there are around 33 million people living with the lifestyle disease, a majority of whom lies within five years of amputation, experts said and urged the authorities to establish diabetic foot clinics throughout the country to prevent 75 to 80 per cent of amputations.
“Every year, around 400,000 amputations are unfortunately being carried in Pakistan due to diabetic foot, which is a primary complication of the 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, number of diabetics would be doubled by 2032 in the country,” Prof Abdul Basit, president of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region told an international conference on Friday. 400000 losing legs, The international moot titled ‘NADEP Footcon 2022’ has been organised by the National Association of Diabetes Educators of Pakistan (NADEP) in collaboration with the Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology (BIDE), International Diabetes Federation (IDF), D-Foot International and other organisations, and is being attended by health experts from several countries of the world as well as other cities of Pakistan. The IDF MENA region president maintained that 50 per cent amputations could be prevented by establishing foot clinics across the country where general physicians trained in taking care of foot ulcers could take care of the wounds and in case of complications, refer the cases to specialised clinics before it became too late. He urged the public and private sector to support them in spreading the network of specialised foot clinics across Pakistan. “We at BIDE have established 118 foot clinics in Sindh, Punjab and some other parts of the country where amputation rate has dropped to 75 per cent due to early detection and treatment of foot ulcers. We have also reduced the incidence of foot ulcers to zero per cent in people with diabetes by providing them specialised footwear,” Prof Basit said. On the occasion, he announced that the National of Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad had formally taken over the Diabetes Registry of Pakistan (DROP) where the data of both Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes was being collected. He added that the registry would help the researchers and clinicians manage the epidemic of diabetes in Pakistan.
President of Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) Prof Noshad Shaikh in his presidential address termed diabetes as a ‘real emerging threat’ for Pakistan, saying that 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 these circumstances, prevention through awareness becomes the only option left for us. This conference is a major step in preventing diabetes and its complications like amputations. 400000 losing legs, As a surgeon, I have seen people getting their lower limbs amputated and then dying within a few years of losing their legs or feet,” he said. Speaking about the PMC, he said he had been entrusted with the task to convert the PMC into the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which was the original medical education regulator in the country. He added that the registration of doctors had tripled after he took over the charge and announced that the PMDC would be restored as doctors were not willing to get themselves registered with the new body created by the previous government. “We have also taken some steps that were being demanded by the medical community as we have decided to mention and register the basic sciences degrees of the medical professionals, we have abolished the National Licensing Exam (NLE) and we have increased the duration of PMDC licence from two to five years,” he said. He added that every year 50 billion rupees were going abroad for the medical education of 20,000 medical students who were unable to get admissions to medical colleges in Pakistan as the pass percentage of MDCAT exam had been raised to 65 per cent, due to which hundreds of seats in the medical and dental colleges remained vacant. 400000 losing legs, The NADEP president said they were holding the NADEP Footcon for the last several years to create awareness about diabetic foot ulcers, prevention from amputations and help physicians and clinicians save lives of people by managing complications of diabetes. Diabetologist and chair of the conference 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 3,000 diabetic foot clinics across the country as part of corporate social responsibility.
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