Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan's government will increase funding for the treatment of a number of harmful diseases in 2013, including diabetes.

The draft budget for 2013 will provide funding in the amount of 33.7 million manats ($42.9 million) for the State Program on Diabetes Mellitus, which is 21.5 million manats ($27.3 million), or 2.8 times, more than in 2012.

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin -- a hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreas and is central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced.

There are three main types of diabetes mellitus (DM). Type 1 DM results from the body's failure to produce insulin, and presently requires the person to inject insulin or wear an insulin pump.

Type 2 DM results from insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly, sometimes combined with an absolute insulin deficiency.

The third main form, gestational diabetes, occurs when pregnant women without a previous diagnosis of diabetes develop a high blood glucose level. It may precede development of type 2 DM.

Globally, as of 2012, an estimated 346 million people have type 2 diabetes.

The number of new diabetes cases in Azerbaijan was 22,104 in 2011, 1,500 over 2010. Some 4,207 of these people are insulin dependent and 17,174 are insulin independent.

As many as 135,711 people with diabetes were registered by Azerbaijani medical institutions in 2011. The figure was 121,095 in 2010.

Notwithstanding the increase in diabetes cases in Azerbaijan, the number of deaths from this disease reduced in comparison with 2006, according to Rauf Jabbarov, PhD in Medical Science.

All forms of diabetes have been treatable since insulin became available in 1921, and type 2 diabetes may be controlled with medications. Both types 1 and 2 are chronic conditions that cannot be cured.

Without proper treatment diabetes can cause many complications. Adequate treatment of diabetes is important, along with blood pressure control and lifestyle factors such as smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight.

In addition to the funds designated to fight diabetes in Azerbaijan, it is planned to allocate about 4 million manats (nearly $5.1 million) worth of state funds for multiple sclerosis treatment in 2013. The draft budget also envisions allocations in the amount of 25.8 million manats ($32.8 million), which is 9.8 percent more than in 2012, for the treatment of chronic renal failure, as well as 21.2 million manats ($26.9 million), or 2.9 percent more than in 2012, for measures to fight hemophilia and thalassemia, hereditary blood diseases.

Spending on cancer treatment will increase 72.4 percent next year, amounting to 25.1 million manats ($27.3 million), while 5 million manats ($6.3 million) will be spent to finance a program of activities to combat tuberculosis.