Tatil launches diabetes awareness campaign

IN efforts to increase awareness of diabetes, Tatil and Tatil Life have created a new campaign, Diabetes: A Family Concern. The campaign was launched last week at Tatil’s headquarters on Maraval Road, Port of Spain .

In a press release, the company said, “Tatil and Tatil Life, members of the ANSA McAL Group, and providers of health, life and critical illness insurance, have identified a major gap in the awareness of diabetes and its effect on citizens. The companies have adopted diabetes as the major corporate social initiative to which they will be committed to in the well future.”

It will consist of three main parts: discovering diabetes, preventing diabetes and managing diabetes. Managing director of Tatil Life Ronald Milford said the most common complication of diabetes is foot infections, and doctors do over 500 amputations a year. He said there are over 140,000 diabetics in TT and 40,000 who do not know they have the disease.

“There is a globally agreed target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025 and to reduce its prevalence by 25 per cent. That is the challenge that the international health organisations have set, that the Ministry of Health is striving for, and that we at Tatil Life are going to make a huge investment of time, effort and creativity to make happen.”

Milford believes one’s family plays a major role in controlling the disease, as they are the people who are closest to a patient, can recognise symptoms and support lifestyle changes. Tatil managing director M Musa Ibrahim said the media are crucial to the company’s efforts, and urged other groups and companies to join the cause.

“The greatest impact will happen when all media houses use their great, combined effort to get the message out there. We urge you to populate your pages and channels with diabetes-related information, particularly in the month of November, and help to turn November 14 into a blue day to mark International Diabetes Day.” The campaign will begin on November 1.