Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 15 November 2015:Marking the occasion of World Diabetes Day, the Emirates Diabetes Society (EDS) and Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, brought ‘The Best of ADA (American Diabetes Association) 2015’ to Dubai on 13 and 14 November. With participation of over 150 healthcare professionals, the congress will be dedicated to showcasing key findings from the scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association held in USA in June 2015.

The collaborative initiative is getting together multiple stakeholders including healthcare professionals, patients and media on a common platform to delve upon, and address the unmet diabetes needs in the region.  A media summit themed ‘Together for Diabetes’was held in parallel with the medical congress, where journalists from UAE, Lebanon, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan and KSA had the opportunity to hear from some of the leading international experts from the field as well as from patient ambassadors from My Diabetes Story, a Middle East diabetes awareness platform. The discussions revolved around diabetes challenges and disparities in the region, diabetes guidelines, new treatment modalities, and outcomes of new diabetes trials related to cardiovascular health.

Dr. Abdulrazzaq Al Madani, Consultant in Endocrinology, President of the Emirates Diabetes Society (EDS) said, “Despite all the awareness efforts in the Middle East and globally, diabetes management is still a considerable challenge for the health authorities and the healthcare community. A major part of diabetes is related cardiovascular complications. Data reflects that many patients suffer from various comorbidities like blindness, uncontrolled cholesterol, amputations, renal failure, and two thirds of diabetic patients die from heart disease or stroke. Under-diagnosis of diabetes is also a major issue. With healthcare costs reaching hundreds of billions of dollars globally, a radical change in the state of the disease is required to manage the condition given the limited resources, and in a timely manner¹.”

The ‘Best of ADA’ congress is focused on providing new, relevant data and insights to enable physicians and healthcare professionals across the Middle East. It aims to equip them with information on improved diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with diabetes and comorbid conditions. Attendees had an exclusive preview of the proceedings of the ‘Best of ADA 2015’ during the media summit.

Ayman Mokhtar, General Manager at Sanofi Gulf said, “With the rising incidence of diabetes in UAE, we at Sanofi strongly recognize the necessity to support the development of advanced therapies, enhance the knowledge and expertise of healthcare providers, and address patient’s needs of understanding diabetes for effectively managing the condition. We are delighted to host the second edition of the ‘Best of ADA’. The collaborative initiative is bringing together key opinion leaders in the Middle East to facilitate a scientific knowledge exchange and ensure that there is a common platform to share the best developments in the field of diabetes”.

Other key speakers for the event namely Dr. Noor Al Busaidi, President of the Oman Diabetes Associations shed light on global and regional developments, and shared best practices in the clinical management of the disease. They also discussed advanced treatment options according to the latest American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) consensus statement, along with the most recent outcomes of the ‘UAE National Diabetes and Lifestyle Survey’.

There was representation from My Diabetes Story (MDS) patient ambassadors who shared real life experiences of living well with diabetes. Launched in UAE in November 2014, under the endorsement of Emirates Diabetes Society and supported by Sanofi, My Diabetes Story is a platform led by patients, for patients, aimed at providing meaningful support and advice through patient-to-patient communication.