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Doha – A report on the prevalence of type-2 diabetes worldwide
released on Tuesday warned that an estimated 600 million people will
suffer from the disease by 2035 and has termed it as a "serious and
urgent" challenge.
The report – "Rising to the Challenge", was published at the World
Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) which kicked off on Tuesday and
said that the cost of direct healthcare for diabetes and its
complications was around 11 per cent of total healthcare costs
worldwide in 2014.
This, the report said was equivalent to $612 billion which is greater
than the entire GDP of countries such as Nigeria or Sweden.
"The report calls for policymakers to address the serious, urgent and
universal diabetes challenge. It highlights that an estimated 10 per
cent of the world's adult population – nearly 600 million people –
will suffer with the condition by 2035," a WISH statement said.
Experts said that diabetes currently "lacks" the public or political
priority that it should have and proposes three clinical goals for
policymakers.
"Improving disease management for people with diabetes to reduce
complication rates, establish effective surveillance to identify and
support those at risk of type 2 diabetes and deliver a range of
interventions to help create an environment focused on prevention,"
the report said while proposing three clinical goals.
The expert report also said that type-2 diabetes currently affects
about 350 million people worldwide while 80 per cent of the world's
diabetic population lives in countries where only 20 per cent of the
global budget for healthcare is spent.
"The health consequences of type 2 diabetes are more severe than often
recognised and include increased susceptibility to blindness, lower
limb amputations, kidney failure, heart attacks and stroke," the
report said.
Type-2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder where high levels of blood
sugar occur and if left untreated, it can cause heart attacks,
strokes, blindness and kidney failure.
The report aims to equip policymakers around the world with tools to
stem the tide of diabetes.
"Doing nothing is not an option, so it is vital that we share and
learn from best practice examples from around the world and put
interventions in place," said Stephen Colagiuri, Professor of
Metabolic Health at University of Sydney, Australia, who led the team
that published the report.
The report focuses on proposing actionable recommendations which
enable policymakers to improve disease management, increase effective
surveillance and implement prevention strategies, based on innovative
approaches from around the world.
This is one of eight reports being presented at the WISH Summit 2015
where leading international health experts, leaders and policymakers
are participating to discuss innovative solutions to some of the most
pressing global health challenges.
Credit: Khaleej Times
