By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA) yesterday launched a series of educational videos to raise awareness about diabetes and the rights of diabetic children.
QDA, in collaboration with Oryx GTL, launched the series of 12 animated films for school children on diabetes. The films are being made as part of the ‘Rights of the Diabetic Student’ initiative launched in 2005.
The short educational videos will serve as a tool for both children and adults to gain knowledge about diabetes and provide an insight into how to deal with the disease in specific ways. The films will be circulated in schools and they will also be circulated via social networks and cinema for all members of the community.
Dr Abdullah Al Hamaq, Executive Director of Qatar Diabetes Association, said: “Qatar Diabetes Association believes in the importance of ensuring the rights of all children suffering from diabetes. We have coordinated with the Ministry of Education to show the films at Independent and private schools, and it’s a very good tool to educate students about diabetes.
“We have also collaborated with the Qatar Cinema to screen these videos at cinemas. Teachers, students, parents and everyone should know about diabetes so that they can help children with diabetes to lead a normal life,” he added.
Rights of diabetic students include the presence of a nurse/school nurse in addition to a school staff member who has received training in how to deal with diabetes. Also, the blood sugar level of students with diabetes must be continuously monitored during the school hours.
Allowing students with diabetes to eat snacks or main meals according to what is specified in their treatment plan is one of their rights, as also allowing them to drink water and go to the toilet whenever needed.
Moreover, those students should have the right to be engaged in various activities and exercises and to participate in the trips of the school, after taking necessary precautions to ensure their safety.
Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Diabetes Care Program cares for more than 1,200 diabetic children making it one of the largest centres in the region dedicated to the treatment and study of diabetes in children. A combination of hereditary diabetes and an increase in unhealthy lifestyle choices directly contribute to the prevalence of child diabetes in Qatar. About 85 percent of the diabetic children treated at Hamad General Hospital (HGH) have type 1 diabetes.
The Peninsula
