The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in association with Action on Diabetes (AoD), hosted a diabetes screening programme for its employees.
The activity is part of a major workplace diabetes screening programme conducted by AoD, a public-private partnership initiated and funded by Maersk Oil Qatar.
The screening took place at the Ministry’s offices in Lusail over the two days and was managed by nurses and educators from the Supreme Council of Health, Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Health Care Corporation and Qatar Diabetes
Association.
The screening activity is a key strand of AoD’s ongoing efforts to tackle diabetes in Qatar. These efforts focus on educating members of the community and those at risk on the factors that contribute to the condition, and empowering them to avoid and
manage it through early
detection.
A custom-made screening bus visited the Ministry’s offices, fitted with a range of testing equipment to allow analysis of blood glucose, HbA1C, cholesterol, BMI and blood  
pressure.
Those people tested at the bus received a personalised analysis of the results with colour-coded graphs highlighting risk levels, as well as recommendations and advice to improve these results over time. A diabetes health audit was provided to the Ministry along with a final report with aggregated screening results and follow-up recommendations.
Tareq al-Sada, director, public relations and communication, MEC, said: “This partnership is in line with our commitment to supporting our employees’ health. Since diabetes is one of the biggest health challenges in Qatar and around the world, this partnership is a great example of the government’s commitment to social responsibility and supporting the people of Qatar.”
Dr al-Anoud al-Thani, manager, health promotion and non-communicable diseases at the Supreme Council of Health, said: “It is hugely encouraging that so many people from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce have tested themselves for diabetes at the Action on Diabetes screening bus. This is a huge achievement, and shows that Action on Diabetes is making real progress in raising awareness and increasing public knowledge of the risk factors, signs and complications associated with diabetes.”
Last year, more than 5,600 employees were screened throughout Qatar as part of AoD’s workplace health campaign through partnerships with 20 of Qatar’s largest private and public sector organisations that included Hassad Food, Kahramaa, Qatar Insurance Company and Qatar
University.