WHO lauds RP campaign vs diabetes

HANOI — The Philippines has been acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO) for its active campaigning against non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, at a summit here.

In a presentation during the Diabetes Summit last Tuesday, Dr. Gauden Galea, WHO regional adviser for NCDs in the Western Pacific, said the Philippines is among the countries in the region that need "external intervention (support)" in battling NCDs, but noted it is doing well in the campaign.

The other nations he cited were China, Mongolia and Vietnam.

Galea noted that while the Philippines has not come up with an "integrated national plan" against NCDs as had Vietnam and Mongolia, it "has taken a different route" by establishing the Philippine Coalition for the Prevention and Control of Non- Communicable Diseases two years ago.

"The coalition is a good step towards having a national plan," he said.

In an interview, Galea said he was "amazed" at the rate the anti-NCDs programs are being implemented by the DOH.

But in his "personal view," the WHO official pointed out the DOH faces a challenge on how it could have the programs implemented by local government units, citing the autonomy LGUs enjoy under the 1992 Local Government Code.

"We’d like to see more LGUs going down the way because once we decentralize, each decision has to be again repeated at every municipality, at every region," Galea told The STAR.

He said there is the challenge to "try to convince every mayor after every term of office to again support the program."

Galea added it would be "ideal" for the Philippines to have an "enabling legislation that would support" the implementation of the programs.

In lauding the country’s anti-NCD coalition, the WHO official noted how the Department of Health (DOH) was able to bring together several government and non-governmental organizations in combating NCDs.

One of the undertakings of the coalition, which now has over 40 members, is to convince various fast-food outlets and restaurants in the Philippines to offer more vegetables and fruits on their menus.

Galea also cited the country for the DOH’s Mag-Healthy Lifestyle Tayo (Let’s live a healthy lifestyle) campaign, which is aimed at encouraging Filipinos to observe a healthy diet, exercise regularly and avoid smoking and alcohol and other unhealthy practices.

Gale also mentioned the Philippine Senate’s ratification of the WHO-initiated Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to regulate cigarette smoking which is one of the factors for developing NCDs.

The Philippines was also cited for coming up with new clinical guidelines on hypertension and diabetes and for launching a planning survey and data collection efforts a few years ago.

The summit was organized by the World Diabetes Foundation, ministry of health in Vietnam and the Western Pacific Declaration on Diabetes that includes the WHO, Secretariat of the Pacific Community and the IDF, to fortify the global fight against diabetes.

Experts have warned that diabetes has already attained "epidemic proportions" with 194 million people diagnosed with the illness worldwide. The figure is expected to double by 2025.

It is estimated, however, that a similar number of people are already diabetic but not informed about their illness while another 310 million are predisposed to diabetes because of impaired glucose tolerance.