MEXICO CITY.- In Mexico, in many cases of diabetes mellitus, it takes seven to 14 years from the onset of the disease to its diagnosis, which is often when people have retinopathy or cataracts, which are indicators of late detection. are, said Hugo López-Gatel Ramirez, undersecretary for prevention and health promotion.
During his participation in the opening of the Second Symposium on Visual Health Mexico-United States, López-Gatel Ramirez explained that, under the leadership of the Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcácer Varela, a profound transformation of the health system is being carried out, from the perspective of primary health care. including mobilizing and securing the active participation of communities.
He emphasized that it aims at accurate and timely detection and treatment of diseases, including diabetes and visual disorders, which, if untreated or detected late, affect the quality of life, family, community and social economy.
He announced that a central theme of the 2023 action agenda would include reconfiguring the operational capabilities of first level care and specialty referral and counter-referral for timely access to services for people without social security.
López-Gatel Ramirez explained that one of the great challenges of the Mexican national health system is the “enormous burden of disease”, represented by chronic non-communicable diseases, because they develop silently over many years and are influenced by determinants such as social inequality. and this leads to late diagnosis and inadequate treatment.
They indicated that another factor that influences the development of chronic non-communicable diseases is lifestyle, which consists of economic determinants combined with eating patterns and exposure to environmental toxins.
In this sense, he specified that the prevention and care of these conditions should be given from a public health approach, involving innovation and the competencies of clinical experts. Likewise, it should integrate the capability to generate strategic, tactical and operational intelligence that guides policies and programmes.
At the ceremony, Silvia Moguel Anchita, president of the Mexican Society of Ophthalmology, explained that 80 percent of visual loss is preventable, for example, one in five girls and boys face visual problems such as astigmatism, which can be resolved with Glasses can be used.
Stephanie Siptak-Ramnath, trade manager for the United States Embassy in Mexico, said the Second Sight Health Symposium is an example of joint work between the two countries to address eye-related problems facing the population.
He pointed out that more than 1.2 billion people in the world suffer from visual problems that could be prevented with timely access to health services, and highlighted the importance of using technology to maintain their visual health.
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