Southeast Asia, including India, sees over 482,000 diabetes-related deaths every year, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, while calling for the need to boost the prevention and control measures against the blood sugar condition.
Diabetes
is a global health concern and can potentially lead to complications such as
blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and lower limb amputation.
The
WHO noted that the countries in the Southeast Asia Region have made significant
progress in provisioning services for the management of diabetes.
Till
June, over 60 million people have been placed on protocol-based management for
diabetes and hypertension. This is expected to reach 100 million by 2025.
However,
despite efforts, challenges remain. More than 260,000 children and adolescents
with Type 1 diabetes face limited access to insulin and monitoring. The
incidence of type 2 diabetes is also increasing among young people in the
Region, the global health body said.
“Bridging
the service gaps to ensure timely access to diabetes care can save lives,“ said
Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia.
Wazed
called for making "care services equitable, comprehensive, accessible, and
affordable" for all.
She
was speaking at the two-day Regional Commemoration of World Diabetes Day 2024
under the theme ‘Breaking Barriers, Bridging Gaps’ in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
To
address the growing burden of diabetes, health experts and officials also
adopted ‘Colombo Call to Action’.
The
Call to Action underlines catalytic actions and collective commitments of
Member countries to accelerate efforts to unite, integrate, innovate, treat,
track, and educate to reduce the risk of diabetes and ensure that those
diagnosed with the disease have access to quality treatment and care.
WHO
Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a video message to the
gathering, said that more than half of the 800 million people living with
diabetes “do not receive treatment".
The
WHO chief pressed the need to "intensify efforts to meet global targets
and ensure better prevention, diagnosis, and management of diabetes”.
The UN
agency suggested measures such as equipping primary healthcare with standard
treatment protocols, essential medicines, quality diagnostics, and skilled
professionals to meet the growing demand for diabetes care.
Wazed
noted that preventing diabetes "is a shared responsibility of governments,
healthcare providers, and communities".
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