Ministry of Health Organizes Closing Event for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Month

The Ministry of Health organized on Wednesday the closing event of Muscular Dystrophy (Duchenne) Awareness Month, under the slogan “Access to Care Changes Lives,” sponsored by Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi at the New Maternity Hospital.

In a statement issued by the Ministry, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Affairs, representing the event’s sponsor, Dr. Al-Mundhir Al-Husawi, said that Kuwait attaches great importance to Muscular Dystrophy (Duchenne) through an integrated system of preventive, therapeutic, and early diagnostic measures, culminating in the provision of the most advanced genetic treatments.

Dr. Al-Husawi added that Kuwait’s role has not been confined to the local level but has extended internationally, as the State of Kuwait led an initiative to submit a draft resolution to the General Assembly of the United Nations at its seventy-eighth session, which received the support of 128 countries to designate September 7 as World Duchenne Awareness Day.

For her part, Dr. Rania Al-Badr, Head of the Medical Board at the New Maternity Hospital, stated that this event serves to emphasize that awareness and comprehensive, multidisciplinary care are the optimal means of delivering holistic health services.

Dr. Al-Badr noted that the affiliation of the Kuwait Center for Genetic Diseases with the New Maternity Hospital represents a step toward achieving continuity and integration, given that managing genetic diseases begins at the family level and requires a unified health system operating with a collaborative team spirit.

Meanwhile, Dr. Laila Bastaki, Director of the Kuwait Center for Genetic Diseases, stated that the global incidence rate of this condition is approximately one case per 4,000 to 5,000 male births, equating to an estimated 5 to 7 cases annually in Kuwait.

Dr. Bastaki affirmed that joint efforts between the Genetic Diseases Center and the Reproductive Assistance Unit at the New Maternity Hospital have succeeded in reducing this rate to one case per year in families without a prior family history of the disease.

She called for intensified collaborative work to keep pace with the rapid advancements in modern genetic therapies and to provide a comprehensive system that safeguards patients’ rights and ensures they achieve the best possible quality of life.

The event was attended by several Ministry of Health leaders, a select group of medical personnel and specialists, as well as patients’ families and individuals affected by the disease.