The Director General of the Executive Bureau of the GCC Council of Health Ministers Dr. Tawfeeq bin Ahmed Khoja said diabetes has exhausted the health services in the GCC countries.
"Diabetes takes a great deal of the services provided by hospitals", he said. "A study conducted in Riyadh has revealed that about 32% of hospitals inpatients are affected by diabetes. They have been introduced to hospitals either for reasons relative to diabetes or for other diseases relative to diabetes. The ever-growing complications of diabetes confirm the seriousness of the problem".
Dr. Khoja, who was talking on the occasion of the Conference of Diabetes Economics in the GCC countries, attributed the reasons behind spreading of diabetes to population growth, population aging, and increase of diagnosed cases due to the attention paid to the disease.
25 researchers and experts from different national, regional, and international organizations will participate in the conference, which will be held in Riyadh during the period from 22 to 24/10/1428, being 3 to 5/11/2007.