The UAE Ministry of Health organized a national-level workshop yesterday to monitor the risk factors of non-communicable diseases at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai. The conference was attended by experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) along with primary healthcare specialists as well as nursing and administrative members from the medical and health sectors and medical colleges. The session focused on the causes leading to the onset of chronic diseases such as obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension and devised strategies such as encouraging exercise and avoiding wrong eating habits to prevent these diseases.

H.E. Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for Health Centers and Clinics Sector, UAE Ministry of Health, said: “In the context of the government’s strategy to implement the National Health Agenda, the Ministry of Health seeks to give due importance to the prevention of non-communicable diseases in its National Development Plans. At the same time, it plans to increase its allocations in the financial budgets and establish effective mechanisms to engage as many sectors in the UAE.”

Through the workshop, the Ministry aims to renovate the surveillance and risk factors of the National Program for Non-Communicable Diseases in terms of resources, infrastructure, statistical data collection, analysis, and reporting as per modern health indicators. This is in response to the objective of the WHO to decrease mortality caused by chronic diseases to 25 per cent by 2025.

Dr. Buthaina Abdullah bin Balila, President of the Non-Communicable Diseases Section, Company, said: “The main focus of the workshop is on the study of the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular, kidney and respiratory diseases as well as cancers in the UAE and the causes as well as the best preventive and remedial policies based on regional and international experiences.”

The workshop highlighted the adoption of the WHO guide which urges the reduced consumption of salt and fat to control blood pressure as well as emphasizes the importance of physical activity and pharmaceutical treatments for obesity. In addition, it discussed the connection between breathing disorders during sleep and vascular disease and between smoking and cancer and kidney diseases and talked about ways to raise awareness for their prevention.

Dr. Bouthaina referred to the WHO’s visit to a number of the Ministry of Health’s facilities for the surveillance system for non-communicable diseases, including the health records department to check the statistics on deaths caused by non-communicable diseases.

The Ministry of Health has implemented several highly effective initiatives for a comprehensive national monitoring program, including the National Survey of risk factors for non-communicable diseases. Chronic diseases are some of the major reasons for deaths in the UAE, and if not addressed immediately, they will lead to a growing burden of lost individual productivity and the draining of the country’s financial resources.