Diabetes is a silent killer that kills one person every 10 seconds

Diabetes is a global problem with devastating human, social and economic impact. Today more than 250 million people worldwide are living with diabetes and by 2025, this total is expected to increase to over 380 million people. Each year another 7 million people develop diabetes.

Diabetes is a growing epidemic threatening to overwhelm global healthcare services, wipe out some indigenous populations and undermine economies worldwide, especially in developing countries.

Each year more than 3.8 million people die from diabetes-related causes, one death every 10 seconds.This silent epidemic claims as many lives annually as HIV/AIDS.

• Type 1 diabetes, which predominately affects youth, is rising alarmingly worldwide, at a rate of 3% per year. Some 70,000 children worldwide are expected to develop type 1 diabetes annually.
• Type 2 diabetes is responsible for 90 -95% of diabetes cases and is increasing at alarming rates globally as a resultof increased urbanization, high rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyles and stress.
• In many countries in Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and the Caribbean, diabetes affects up to 20% of the adult population.These countries bear the brunt of the major increase in diabetes prevalence but also the burden of the costs.
• Indigenous populations face genetic genocide becauseof their high genetic predisposition for type 2 diabetes.Worldwide, more than50% of adults over the age of 35 inindigenous communities have diabetes.

We have the knowledge to tackle the diabetes epidemic, and reduce the suffering and pre-mature deaths that diabetes causes. We have the cost-effective strategies to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes complications.

Diabetes is not yet curable but in many cases type 2 diabetes is preventable. If governments begin now by promoting low-cost strategies that alter diet, increase physical activity and modify lifestyles, the advance of this epidemic can be reversed.

It is time for governments to create national diabetes programs to tackle the epidemic.