Skip to 0 minutes and 8 seconds When I was diagnosed, I was told diabetes can lead to several problems. I’m a lawyer. And I began to notice issues when I was reading. When you realized that, what treatment did you receive? I have received an injection and laser treatment. I began to see the changes. I was able to read again a little. Today, I have no problem. Diabetes mellitus is an emerging global public health challenge. By 2040, which is just over 20 years from now, we expect that there will be a 50% increase in the number of adults with diabetes. The number of people living worldwide with diabetes is increasing at a considerable rate. And the management of this important condition is a serious public health issue.
Skip to 1 minute and 2 seconds We realize that one in three people with diabetes may develop diabetic retinopathy, which is a condition which affects the back of the eye and may threaten vision. Early detection through regular eye screening of persons with diabetes is central to prevent blindness. Within a health system, this means three things. It means we have to improve access and services for screening. We have to have regular counseling and health education for people living with diabetes so that they understand the risks that they carry. And finally, we have to strengthen the clinical and surgical services that are available to deal with diabetic eye disease. Diabetes eye care providers face a lot of challenges in delivering services at the local level.
Skip to 1 minute and 50 seconds Firstly, they need to develop mechanisms to deliver services. And these are generally not available in many places. They then need to purchase the equipment, invest in building the infrastructure to provide the services. Once that is done, they need to build the capacity of the local eye care teams so they can then go on to provide services. And above all, to empower the population, the people with diabetes who actually need to share the responsibility of controlling their diabetes and reducing the risk factors which cause diabetic eye disease. In this course, we’ll be looking closely at the magnitude of diabetes and the risk factors for diabetic eye disease.
Skip to 2 minutes and 39 seconds We will look at the principles of screening for diabetic retinopathy and the models for service delivery and treatment that are in practice at present. We’ll also look at a practical activity on how to plan services for diabetic eye diseases for a 1 million population. We look forward to having you on our course.
