Skopje, 4 March 2025 (MIA) - Around 30 to 35 percent of people in Macedonia already have issues with obesity, while globally this figure stands at around one billion. This figure is projected to rise by 50 percent in ten years, and not only in developed countries, but also in developing countries such as ours. So, this isn’t only an issue faced by the population that has better living standards, but also in developing countries, Minister of Health Arben Taravari said at a press conference Tuesday for World Obesity Day.

Taravari stressed the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Fund have already procured insulin therapy and everything necessary for people with diabetes.

“As a Ministry of Health, together with the Health Insurance Fund, we would like to say that this year we have already procured insulin therapy and everything else that is necessary for people with diabetes. This has already been secured, and we are working to secure around 10-20 percent more. Additionally, there will be treatment for patients who have both diabetes and obesity and require specific medication. This figure will rise by 200 patients this year, which is a relatively significant figure,” Taravari said.

The head of the Health Insurance Fund, Sasho Klekovski, at the press conference stressed that for the first time this year a budget has been approved for bariatric surgery at the Clinic for Digestive Surgery.

“The idea is to turn to this intervention when there are strong medical indications for that, not aesthetic but medical indications, when the body weight can no longer be controlled in other ways. Here we should acknowledge that we no longer see obesity as an aesthetic issue, but as a health issue, and as an investment in the health of individuals,” Klekovski said.

Photo: MIA