KARACHI, Jan 8: The secretary-general of the Diabetic Association of Pakistan, Prof A. Samad Shera, has been elected founder chairman of the Diabetes in Asia Study Group. The group was formed during the 19th International Diabetes Federation Congress held in Cape Town last month. Its aim is to improve diabetes care and delivery in Asia, conduct studies on the state of diabetes and develop human resources to fight the disease which is likely to spread to more than 260 million people in Asia by 2025.

Prof Shera is currently the honorary president of the International Diabetes Federation. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly on December 20 had declared November 15 as the World Diabetes Day to be observed every year from 2007.