Sanofi-aventis has awarded grants to five doctors from across the GCC region, to implement new research, screening and care initiatives to prevent and treat diabetes in the region.

The grants are part of Sanofi’s ‘Devoted’ initiative, launched in the Middle East in 2007 to improve and support the management and treatment of diabetes, among the most worrisome health threats to the Arab world.

Grant winners include:

UAE’s Dr Hussein Saadi, professor of Internal Medicine and consultant Endocrinology at UAE University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, for a survey of Emirati adults to determine the prevalence of diabetic complications.

Dr Ghaida Qadaha, consultant Diabetology, Rashid Hospital in Dubai, accompanied by two members of her team, composed of Dr Khadeeja Hafez and Dr Sameem Matu, were chosen for creating two extraordinary initiatives to combat diabetes.

The first initiative involves training nursing staff that deal with diabetic patients in the UAE. The objective is to train nurses to directly provide diabetic patients with health information on how to gain control of their blood sugar levels by becoming what is known as Diabetes Educators.

The second project is aimed at conducting a national survey to assess the prevalence of obesity and diabetes among schoolchildren in the UAE.

Dr Wiam Ibrahim Hussein, consultant Endocrinology of Bahrain’s Gulf Diabetes Specialist Centre, for a project using short-message services (SMS) to manage diabetes; and Dr Mireille Samson, consultant family Medicine and Endocrinology, of the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Centre in Abu Dhabi, for a diabetes screening project.

'Devoted' winners each receive a financial grant from Sanofi-aventis, to be used towards the implementation of their projects. The third edition of the ‘Devoted’ grants competition, open only to practicing diabetes specialists, drew more than 24 entries from across the Gulf region.

“More than three million individuals across the Gulf region have diabetes, and millions more are at risk,” said Jean Marc Voissier, general manager, Sanofi-aventis Gulf.

“As the number of diabetic patients continues to rise in the region, particularly in the UAE, the 'Devoted' grants will help pave the way for advanced clinical research that will reduce the risks of diabetes while improving the way the disease is treated.”-TradeArabia News Service