Decide, the UAE’s diabetes community initiative, is targeting key government and civic authorities across the UAE this Ramadan with the intention of screening the blood glucose levels of more than 2,500 participants.

Dr Abdulrazzaq Ali Al Madani, Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Hospital and Head of the Emirates Diabetes Society, said: “Recent data shows that the UAE has improved its ranking on the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) list of countries where diabetes has a strong prevalence; it has gone down to 10 from two. While this is an improvement from our earlier placing, it’s clear that there is still a lot of work to do in educating people about the condition and how inappropriate lifestyle management is playing a role in the increasing number of patients afflicted with diabetes.”

The month-long campaign will be an assessment tool, which will allow people to see where their blood glucose level is, and if their measurement puts them in the suspected category; from that point they have to make a decision about how they want to handle the next step.

People who test above a certain range will be advised to seek further investigation with their physicians.

Speaking on behalf of Decide, Wadad Aboul Khoudoud said: “Ramadan represents a unique opportunity to educate people on the importance of not only managing, but also monitoring for diabetes, particularly among those that are predicated to developing diabetes.”