Cuba, the First to Control Diabetes in Latin America

Cuba is the first country in Latin America to control diabetes, Cuban president Miguel Diaz Canel said on Twitter.

In statements to ACN, Dr. Ileydis Iglesias, director of the National Institute of Endocrinology, stressed that all patients are guaranteed treatments, glucometers, medicines and what the national biopharmaceutical industry has set for people with this disease.

She also referred to Cuba’s work in the prevention of this condition from the primary health care level and to the important research carried out in this field, affecting more than 425 million people in the world.

“This condition is considered worldwide a health problem that continues growing, and much more worrying is not only the number of registered but the number of hidden diabetics, without early and timely diagnosis and treatment, which leads to complications,” the scientist warned.

“Cuba has not escaped this reality, and by the end of 2018 there were more than 723,000 patients diagnosed, but there are others who live with the disease and don’t know it,” she added.

Iglesias insisted on physical activity, which is not only walking and exercising, but also dancing, swimming, avoiding being a sedentary person and maintaining a diet low in sugars and carbohydrates and rich in vegetables and fruits, among other recommendations.