The Carlos Slim Foundation contributes to reinforce the measures to control obesity and diabetes

The XXXIII National Meeting of the Federal Sanitary System convened the Ministry of Health, along with the Federal Commissioner for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) and the directors of the state’s public health laboratories, which jointly announced a frontal combat against counterfeit or substandard products. Moreover, they committed to implement measures to reinforce the fight against overweight, obesity and diabetes.

During the meeting, COFEPRIS highlighted that it has recently signed an agreement with the National Chamber of the Restaurants and Prepared Food Industry (CANIRAC), aimed at generating awareness population of the population’s caloric intake as a preventive measure against obesity and diabetes. Under the above-mentioned agreement, establishments affiliated to CANIRAC will include in their menus or promotions the amount of calories contained in all the food and non-alcoholic beverages offered to the public, as well as the percentage they represent in the daily allowance of each ingredient.

Within its first stage, the COFEPRIS-CANIRAC awareness campaign will be implemented in the stated of Yucatán, Puebla, Nuevo León and Sonora. Later on, the campaign is expected to cover the whole country, reaching more than 400 thousand units where prepared food is sold.

Data from the Mexican Ministry of Health indicate that, annually, over 98 thousand deceases can be attributed to diabetes in the country, representing high costs both at the social and financial levels.

While participating in the previously referred meeting, Dr. Jesus Felipe Gonzalez Roldan, General Director of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control at the Mexican Ministry of Health, presented the Strategy for Early Detection of Diabetes in Medical Services located in Pharmacies. That strategy, which has been implanted with the collaboration of the Carlos Slim Foundation, will allow timely detection, treatment and monitoring of individuals afflicted by diabetes.

During his intervention, the Federal Commissioner against Sanitary Risks, Julio Sánchez y Tépoz, assured that the role of the Federal Sanitary System is essential to protect the population’s health and, as such, it requires unified efforts to be directed at that front. Particularly, he stated “As the Federal Sanitary System, we have a clear responsibility to safeguard the Mexicans health and to continuously work to fight anything that may pose a potential or actual risk. We cannot low that guard; on the contrary, we must strengthen the sanitary control of products and services”.

And the figures presented back what Sánchez y Tépoz stated. According to the information, between 2010 and 2017 COFEPRIS has secured 45 million “miracle” products in the country, 311 million irregular cigarettes, 53 million liters of illegal alcohol and 533 tons of counterfeit or substandard drugs.

For three days, the authorities responsible of the health and sanitary risks agencies in the country addressed issues such as verification and validation control checks at establishments to identify counterfeit, substandard or illegal supplies, as well as verification of the tobacco smoke National Mexican Official Standard and the health surveillance model.

Moreover, they analyzed the Decalogue for Transparency for the Procurement of Health Supplies, the new regulations on cannabis, the work of the National Network of Public Health Laboratories, water quality monitoring, quality management systems and the operation of Comprehensive Service Centers, among others.

The Carlos Slim Foundation signed an agreement with the Mexico City’s Ministry of Health, which includes joint implementation of the MAPI (Comprehensive Primary Care Model) developed by the Foundation, and the Mexico City Government’s Program Médico en Tu Casa (The Medical Doctor at your house). The alliance between the two mentioned programs, both of proven success and highly complementary, allows health services to be delivered to households at Mexico City, through a systematic scheme and using technological innovations developed by the Foundation.

By reaching Mexico City’s households, immediate results can be achieved. Individuals will be able to undergo a medical check-up, where obesity, diabetes and/or hypertension can be timely detected. Moreover, pregnant women are also assessed, and the vaccination status of children under 5 years is verified. Whenever a person is diagnosed at risk or being afflicted by a disease, immediate treatment can be provided or, if necessary, the person can referred to the public health centers to be treated. Initial results have shown that 5% of people evaluated in their households have diabetes and did not know it, and up to 37% were hypertensive. Providing this information in a timely manner allows people to become aware of the disease and initiate timely treatment, preventing serious disease-related complications.