VN joins world diabetes group

HA NOI — Viet Nam was admitted to membership in the World Diabetes Association earlier this month, according to Prof Ta Van Binh, director of the National Hospital of Endocrinology.

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 95 per cent of total diabetic cases, was on the rise, said Binh.

According to statistics of the National Diabetes Prevention Project, the diabetes rate was about 2.7 per cent nationwide in 2002. The rate was higher in major urban centres like Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang.

At the 19th Congress of the World Diabetes Association in Capetown, South Africa, on December 4, the association announced that using Avandia at the onset of diabetes brings positive results in Type 2 diabetes patients, said Binh.

However, the cost of Avandia treatments is high, at US$ 60 per month, placing it beyond the reach of the poor in Viet Nam. — VNS

Viet Nam News