Merck, a leader in pharmaceutical, chemical and life-science products, in collaboration with Emirates Diabetes Society (EDS), has announced the start of Merck Capacity Advancement Program (CAP) in Diabetes education, in the UAE.

The programme is for medical, nursing and pharmacy undergraduates and primary healthcare providers so that ultimately they act as Diabetes ambassadors across the UAE.

The five-year programme will be accredited by the European Accreditation Council of Continuous medical Education (EACCME) and developed by EXCEMED – Excellence in Medical Education and Oxford Centre of Diabetes, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, UK.

The impact of the Merck Diabetes education programme will be even further due to a free educational platform, to centralise and disseminate the educational value of the unique programme across the globe.  

Dr Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, chairman of the executive board and family board of E Merck, said: “Merck is pleased to launch the Merck Capacity Advancement Program in UAE as part of our commitment to building healthcare capacity and providing sustainable access to high-quality health solutions and safe medicines in the Middle East.”

“The CAP will provide critical education and empowerment to those affected and dealing with diabetes to show the way to manage and prevent the silent deadly disease,” he added

Emirates Diabetes Society - EDS plays a vital role in educating health providers who in turn help care-givers deal better with the syndrome. EDS is collaborating with Merck to arrange this course for Students of health Sciences.

Rasha Kelej, vice president, head of global business responsibility and Market Development, Merck Serono, said: “Merck CAP as part of Merck responsibility agenda will improve access to better Diabetes care as part of our commitment to the social and economic development of UAE. Supporting Diabetes education will contribute significantly to improving awareness, early diagnosis and prevention of the disease across the country.”

“The five-year programme was kicked off successfully in Africa, India and Indonesia and will further expand to other African and Asian countries in 2015 in order to establish Merck Africa- Asia Platform for Global health,” Kelej added

"The high prevalence of diabetes is alarming," says Dr Abdulrazzaq Al Madani, chairman of the Emirates Diabetes Society (EDS).

“It gives us immense pleasure to invite the stakeholders in the field of medicine and diabetes in UAE in joint collaboration with EDS and Merck, this Diabetes education course aims to provide guidelines and clinical practice for prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes and its complications,” he said.

“It is estimated that there are almost 804,000 people over the age of 20 years with diabetes in the UAE, another 500,000 people are at the stage of pre-diabetes. The objective of this initiative is to increase the level of knowledge around diabetes for nursing and pharmacy students to address the  non- physicians healthcare community  who will work in the near future with patients to help them prevent, understand and control their disease," he added.

Dr Fathia Al Awady, head of the Endocrine Unit at Dubai Hospital, chairperson of Diabetes Control and Combat Committee at Dubai Health Authority, said:  “We are happy with our partnership with Merck to develop this programme to support diabetes care in UAE.”

“This programme will address a new angel in Diabetes Care, Students who will be the future healthcare providers,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service