PM Allocates Rs6.8 Billion for Diabetes Programme
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has allocated Rs6.8 billion for Pakistan’s diabetes programme, the Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes Mellitus, to expand screening, early diagnosis and treatment across Pakistan.
The prime minister announced the funding in a message on World Diabetes Day, which falls on November 14. The Express Tribune reported that he said diabetes was emerging as a serious public health concern in Pakistan.
This year’s World Diabetes Day theme is “Early Action on Diabetes”. The prime minister said the theme underlined the value of timely screening and medical care in preventing complications and saving lives.
What the diabetes programme will do
The diabetes programme will strengthen screening, early diagnosis and treatment facilities across the country. The funding covers the national prevention and control programme, which works to find cases early and treat them before complications set in.
Early screening matters because diabetes often develops without clear symptoms. Many people learn they have the condition only after it has damaged their heart, kidneys, eyes or nerves.
Specialists at Aga Khan University Hospital warned this week that about 34.5 million adults in Pakistan live with diabetes, and 9.3 million of them, or 26.9 per cent, remain undiagnosed. Their warning put the number of cases at 70.2 million by 2050 unless action slows the rise.
The warning came at a media roundtable organised by Aga Khan University Hospital, where specialists in endocrinology, vascular surgery and clinical nutrition set out the risks. Dr Asma Ahmed, a consultant endocrinologist at the hospital, said type 2 diabetes does not affect older adults alone and urged younger people with a family history or other risk factors to seek screening before symptoms appear.
Early action can prevent complications
The Aga Khan University specialists said early action can reverse prediabetes. In a community trial, the Pakistan Diabetes Prevention Trial, 61 per cent of people with prediabetes who followed a lifestyle plan returned to normal blood sugar within one year.
Simple steps help. Regular screening matters for people with a family history of the disease, along with steady exercise, weight control and taking prescribed medicine. A recent trial in Pakistan found that a high-fibre diet controlled blood sugar better than the drug metformin in adults newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Treatment costs matter too. More than 86,000 medicines have been registered under the drug regulator’s track and trace system, which lets patients check a drug’s authenticity and price. Stroke care, one of the complications diabetes raises, has also drawn fresh public funding, with an additional Rs5 billion announced for stroke treatment in Punjab.
Why the funding matters now
The Rs6.8 billion allocation gives the prevention programme a major public push. It arrives as the burden grows: cases could more than double by 2050 if nothing changes.
World Diabetes Day is observed every year on November 14 to raise awareness of the disease. This year’s theme points to screening as the first step, and the new funding will put more screening within reach of people across the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention and Control of Diabetes Mellitus?
It is the national programme for screening, early diagnosis and treatment of diabetes across Pakistan.
How much funding has been allocated?
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has allocated Rs6.8 billion for the programme.
What is this year’s World Diabetes Day theme?
The theme is “Early Action on Diabetes”, which highlights timely screening and medical care.
How many people in Pakistan have diabetes?
About 34.5 million adults live with diabetes in Pakistan, and 9.3 million of them, or 26.9 per cent, remain undiagnosed, according to specialists at Aga Khan University Hospital.
Can prediabetes be reversed?
Yes. In the Pakistan Diabetes Prevention Trial, 61 per cent of people with prediabetes who followed a lifestyle plan returned to normal blood sugar within one year.
