Cape Town - Less than half of people living with diabetes in Africa know their status.
This raises the risk of severe illness and death and potentially worsening the situation in the region. The continent already has the world’s highest mortality rates due to the disease, according to a new analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While globally, 55% of people with diabetes know they have diabetes, only 46% in Africa know their status.
In Africa, lack of testing facilities and equipment, too few trained health personnel, poor access to health facilities and lack of awareness about diabetes are some of the barriers to diabetes testing. Currently, 24 million adults are living with diabetes in Africa. The figure is projected to rise by 129% to 55 million by 2045.
In the region, premature deaths from diabetes, defined as deaths occurring before the age of 70, stand at 58%, higher than the global average of 48%, while the region’s age-standardised death rate for diabetes is 48 per 100 000 population, more than double the global rate of 23 per 100 000.
In the region, only one in two people living with Type 1 diabetes – the most common form of paediatric diabetes – has access to insulin treatment.
“One of the greatest challenges to diabetes care is lack of diagnosis. Without testing, diabetes becomes a silent killer,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.
“While countries face several barriers to tackling diabetes, the rising prevalence of the disease is a wake-up call to reinforce health care, improve diagnosis, have access to life-saving diabetes medicines and prioritise diabetes as a major health challenge.”
This year’s World Diabetes Day, marked on Monday under the theme “Access to Care”, calls for better access to quality diabetes care as well as better prevention and response.
For the first time ever, countries agreed in May 2022 on key global targets to improve diabetes diagnosis, access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable and quality treatment and care. The goals contained in the WHO Global Diabetes Compact is to have 80% of people living with diabetes diagnosed; 80% of people diagnosed with the disease have good control of blood pressure and blood sugar.
“Additionally, countries should strive to ensure all those diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes have access to affordable insulin and blood glucose self-monitoring and that 60% of people with diabetes aged 40 years and above have access to cholesterol-lowering drugs,” WHO said, adding that people living with diabetes have a higher risk of hypertension and are more prone to high cholesterol – a risk factor for cardiovascular disease – than those without diabetes.
For people living with diabetes, access to affordable treatment, including insulin, is critical to their survival.
Limited access to insulin puts their lives in danger. In rural Mozambique, for instance, the life expectancy of a child with Type 1 diabetes is as low as seven months.
Type 1 diabetes is due to the body’s inability to produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar.
Between 2011 and 2021, the region recorded a five-fold rise in Type 1 diabetes among children and teenagers below 19 years, with cases surging from 4 per 1 000 children to nearly 20 per 1 000. “WHO is supporting African countries to improve their diabetes response. In August, African health ministers endorsed a WHO-led initiative called PEN Plus to increase access to diagnosis, treatment and care of severe chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental and neurotological disorders,” WHO said.
The strategy calls on countries to adopt measures ensuring that essential medicines, technologies and diagnostics are available and accessible at district hospitals.
Only 36% of countries in the African region have essential medicines for chronic diseases in public hospitals, according to a 2019 WHO survey.
Cape Times