<div style="text-align: justify; "><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged world leaders to put an end to international arms race and use the much-needed resources for health and education.</span><br></b></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“On behalf of all diabetic patients and caregivers, I call upon the world leaders to put an immediate end to the Russia-Ukraine war. We must stop the international arms race and use the much-needed resources for our peoples’ health and education,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The premier said this in a video message aired at the World Diabetes Congress-2022 as a ‘Global Ambassador for Diabetes’ in Lisbon, Portugal.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“We need to have a world at peace to make sure that we can provide the right treatment and care to everyone diagnosed with diabetes and related co-morbidities,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Sheikh Hasina put emphasis on collective effort to make insulin and other life-saving drugs affordable for the poor. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure access to insulin and other life-saving drugs at an affordable price for the poor,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">She said the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many fault-lines in the global health system. Nations must draw lessons from that experience to address the inequities that can be even more fatal for diabetes and other NCDs, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The PM said international political will must be mobilized to invest in diabetes prevention, treatment and research.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">She called upon the International Diabetes Federation to join hands with World Health Organization and other relevant global health actors to help implement the Global Diabetes Compact.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"There is no alternative to international financing for the prevention, treatment and research of diabetes," she added.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The premier referred to WHO saying that around 422 million people in the world suffer from diabetes and the disease costs around 1.5 million lives every year.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">In Bangladesh, she said, more than 8.5 million people, including children, live with diabetes and related co-morbidities.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">She said complications and premature death from diabetes can be prevented.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Mentioning that some lifestyle changes like regular exercise and a healthy diet can make a lot of difference, she said with the right medication and caution, a diabetes patient can enjoy a regular life.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">She said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises non-communicable diseases like diabetes to be a major challenge.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Bangladesh targets to reduce premature mortality from diabetes and other major NCDs by one-third by 2030, she added.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Sheikh Hasina said her government has been implementing a pro-people health policy that gives importance to diabetes prevention and control through community awareness.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Her government offers free treatment to diabetic patients in the country’s public sector hospitals, she said, adding that the government has recently started providing free insulin.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">More than 18,000 community clinics and union health centers across the country are equipped with trained professionals and diabetes testing facilities, she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The PM said the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh works closely with the government for promoting nationwide diabetes care and awareness building. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>