National campaign offers free sugar level, blood pressure tests

AMMAN — A campaign aimed at raising awareness on issues related to diabetes and blood pressure was recently launched by three health associations, aiming to target over 10,000 people around the Kingdom.

The Jordan Society for the Care of Diabetes, the Jordanian Atherosclerosis and Hypertension society, and the Jordanian Society for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism last week kicked off their national campaign with an event that saw the participation of a number of specialists, doctors and media people interested in Jordan’s health sector.

“We aim to shed light on the issues of diabetes and stress in society by providing free check up campaigns to various segments of the Jordanian population, and raise awareness on the importance of early diagnosis for these diseases,” said President of Jordan Society for the Care of Diabetes Nadeema Shuqum, who noted that the official campaign started with a free health day for families in Al Hussein Gardens on Saturday.

The open day activities included stations to measure the sugar levels and blood pressure of citizens, stalls on medical education, an eye examination booth and several other stations offering advice on nutrition, sports and best health practices.

“Our aim is to give citizens the tools to be able to follow up on these indicators in their daily lives,” Shuqum told The Jordan Times, noting that with the support of Novartis, the campaign aims to “break a new record” in Jordan by providing random, free of charge testing of blood sugar levels and blood pressure for 10,000 citizens.

Shuqum, who is also an endocrinologist, said: “The campaign will not be limited to the stage of measurement of sugar and pressure for citizens. Each person attending the open days will also receive the necessary health advice and be provided with clear guidance leaflets to guide them on how to best deal with the results they obtained in their examination.”

Jihad Haddad, an endocrinologist, explained: “The guidance accompanying the campaign will also include nutritional and sports recommendations, as well as special guidelines for patients suffering from stress and diabetes to follow during the holy month of Ramadan.”

She stressed the importance of helping citizens to “choose a lifestyle that makes their days healthier”.

“The campaign is a result of our associations and Novartis’ belief that it is important for citizens to know their health status in order to deal with it in a healthy and positive manner,” Shuqum pointed out, noting that “even positive results in such tests constitute a motivation for people to continue following healthy steps to maintain their health”.

“Early diagnosis of diabetes or even pre-diabetes is essential, as the risk of diabetes is reduced by 40 to 70 per cent with improved lifestyle,” stressed Abdulkarim Al Khawaldeh.

The campaign organisers said they are especially keen on providing “modern scientific advice” to the population as the month of Ramadan approaches. 

Endocrinologist Ahmed Khair outlined the challenges of fasting for diabetics, explaining that “the assessment of the condition of diabetics to make a decision to fast must be done through a specialist doctor and followed by a personalised diet plan for the month of Ramadan if the health situation allows fasting”.

The campaign will continue in various sites in Amman and across other governorates, the organisers concluded.