South Africa needs an urgent, coordinated response to the country’s exploding diabetes crisis
● SA’s inaugural Diabetes Summit set to tackle diabetes challenges
Diabetes is the number one killer of women in South Africa, and the second leading cause of death in men, according to Stats SA. One in two people with diabetes are undiagnosed, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF, 2019). Two in three people in SA are at risk of prediabetes, according to the SA Demographic and Health Survey.
“We are all affected by this growing epidemic,” explains Bridget McNulty, chairperson of the Diabetes Alliance. “Every person in South Africa knows someone or has a family member living with diabetes. Undiagnosed, untreated and uncontrolled diabetes is leading to serious complications… These impact people’s daily quality of life and burden the public and private healthcare sector. People with diabetes have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and many have died.”
To address the diabetes crisis in SA and build a coordinated response, the Diabetes Alliance and the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre (UP DRC), are presenting SA’s first ever inaugural South African Diabetes Summit on Wednesday 10th November 2021, ahead of World Diabetes Day on 14 November.
“This November, instead of just telling people about diabetes in South Africa, we’ve invited all those living with and working with diabetes to join us in co-creating SA’s first Diabetes Charter. It will be launched at the Summit,” says McNulty.
“Do South Africans really need another Summit? Yes - especially one about diabetes and especially in the wake of COVID-19, which was devastating for people with diabetes,” she says.
“We have decided to act and confront the diabetes tsunami so that South Africa is never again found unprepared when facing a health challenge similar to the COVID-19 pandemic,” explains Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie from UP DRC. “We share the International Diabetes Federation call for action under the #IfNotNowWhen.”
The Diabetes Alliance includes organisations of people living with diabetes, research and tertiary institutions, healthcare providers, professional associations, pharmaceutical companies and NPOs, all of whom are committed to improving the diabetes response in South Africa.
The South African Diabetes Summit will take stock of the current diabetes situation and produce a Diabetes Charter that will allow all interested parties to ‘build back better’ in terms of the South African response to the diabetes epidemic.
Ahead of the Summit, collaborative work streams are working together to outline evidence-led challenges and propose solutions in five themes, based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Diabetes Compact. Each theme tackles a different aspect of the diabetes problem in South Africa, from awareness and prevention to education, management and access to care, surveillance (data), innovation and research.
The Diabetes Summit is also an opportunity to officially introduce the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre as an advocate for sustainable, evidence-based and person-centered care for people living with diabetes in South Africa. The Centre will endeavour to improve the lives of South Africans living with diabetes through research and innovation.
Everyone is welcome to attend the Diabetes Summit, which will be held on Wednesday 10th November from 9am to 1pm, online. Please register, and find out more, here: www.diabetesalliance.org.za/diabetes-summit
#DiabetesSummitSA
#IfNotNowWhen
ENDS
?
Information for editors:
?
Diabetes is a condition that occurs when blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is the main source of energy and comes from the food a person eats. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes the body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in the blood and doesn’t reach the cells. The most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes.
?
Over time, high blood glucose leads to problems such as:
? heart disease
? stroke
领英推荐
? kidney disease
? eye problems
? dental disease
? nerve damage
? foot problems
?
Symptoms of diabetes include:
? increased thirst and urination
? increased hunger
? fatigue
? blurred vision
? numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
? sores that do not heal
? unexplained weight loss
?
Symptoms of Type 1 diabetes can start quickly, in a matter of weeks. Symptoms of Type 2 diabetes often develop slowly—over the course of several years—and can be so mild that you might not even notice them. Many people with Type 2 diabetes have no symptoms. Some people do not find out they have the condition until they have diabetes-related health problems, such as blurred vision or heart trouble.
?
Contact details for interviews:
?
Bridget McNulty, chairperson of the Diabetes Alliance, living with Type 1 diabetes for 14 years [email protected]
?
Mmane Boikanyo, Head of Marketing and Communications: Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria [email protected]
Digital Transformation Strategist | Social Impact Innovator | @BonnieatPi | #NotaBot #Pi
3 年South Africa just needs to look at how the stores presented their products during lockdown. Massive coca cola stands with every manner of junk food piled up high front and center. Our problem is the profiteering from killer foods that are not just causing obesity and diabetes but many, many other illnesses. We need to tax junk and tax the companies making it even more.