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Countries set global targets to reduce cases of diabetes

The diabetes situation 5 years ago. The figure has risen to to 463 million living with the ailment today

Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Member States of the World Health Organisation have set country targets to tackle the occurrence of diabetes.

The targets were set during the ongoing 75 World Health Assembly that is taking place in Geneva Switzerland.

The targets are supposed to be achieved by 2030. A total of five targets were agreed to. These include; 80 percent of people living with diabetes being diagnosed, 80 percent having control of glycaemia and 80 percent having good control of their blood pressure. In addition to the above, the targets call for 60 percent of people with diabetes aged 40 years and above to receive stations and 100 percent of all people with type one diabetes having access to affordable insulin and blood glucose self-monitoring equipment.

According to records from the World Health Organisation, diabetes is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide.

An estimated 463 million people living with  the disease. However the prevalence of the disease is expected to rise by 10.2 percent to approximately 578 million people by 2030 and to 700 million by 2045.

Christopher Kwizera, the chief executive officer of the Uganda Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance says while the goals are good, the lack of data might make it impossible to realise the goals.

” The goals are good but we might find it hard to realise them because we do not have specific data regarding diabetes. For the goals to work, we need to know how many Ugandans have diabetes to be able to assist them,” Kwizera said.

The most current data on the number of persons living with diabetes in the country is from a 2006. Back then, the number of people living with diabetes in the country stood at 560,000.

Kwizera adds that if Uganda wants to be able to meet the targets the government will have to come up with policies aimed at controlling the causes of diabetes.

According to Kwizera, the government should invest in policies aimed at controlling obesity and  increasing physical activity.

Dr Sam Magala, a diabetes specialist says that the kind of  policies that the government can push is the regulation of advertising of foods with high sugar content.

” In developed countries companies that make soda and even some sweets are stopped from advertising to control obesity in children, we are starting to see more childhood diabetes cases that we think are due to childhood obesity,” he said.

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