The Avicenna Tajik State Medical University conducted an event dedicated to the World Diabetes Day (WDD) which is being celebrated worldwide on November 14th. This event is part of partnership between the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and carried out with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH project, Building a System on Integrated Primary Health Care in Tajikistan” (BaSIC).

The“Building a System on Integrated Primary Health Care in Tajikistan” (BaSIC) project, is co-financed by the EU and BMZ and is being implemented by GIZ.

The “BaSIC” project actively promotes accessibility and quality of integrated primary health care service delivery. The project covers 28 districts and serves four outputs. Through the promotion of continuous professional development, medical education, and strengthening the mentoring system, family doctors, nurses, and midwives can develop their knowledge and skills; and by developing the educational system, the population will benefit in turn.

The BaSIC project is part of the Health Development Program of the European Union in the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2021-2025.

The official statistics of the Republic of Tajikistan shows that in 2021, 50.518 patients were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 2. It is believed that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher than the official statistic indicates. How can this inconsistency in statistics be explained?

It is assumed, that the main reason is due to the lack of early detection of this disease. The reason for this is that in the early stage of diabetes mellitus type 2, patients are often completely symptom-free as the clinical course is asymptomatic. Therefore, diabetes mellitus is often being diagnosed when complications occur. The late detection of type 2 diabetes poses an extreme long-term threat to the body. Patients with an unmanaged diabetes mellitus have among others a high risk of developing cardiovascular complications (CVD), as well as nerve, kidney and eye damages. However, today it is known that diabetes mellitus and CVD mutually burden each other.

The International Diabetes Day was celebrated, with the support of the BaSIC Project, on November 12, 2022, at the shopping centers Auchan and Siyoma at Salomat pharmacy.

To address this problem within the communities an awareness campaign, including randomized blood tests, was organized. The people were informed about the history of this international day itself, its role and significance, as well as the conduction of tests like the measurement of height and weight, questionnaires to detect whether there could be a risk on developing diabetes and the measurement of some blood sugar levels.

During the event, participants were also informed about the BaSIC project, its goals and objectives. The participants discussed the importance of the primary health care, and in particular the importance of family doctors and nurses in Tajikistan.

Students from Avicenna Tajik State Medical University, from the departments of Endocrinology and Family Medicine as well as the employees, clinical residents and interns of the Institute of Postgraduate Education in Healthcare of the Republic of Tajikistan attended the event.