Noting an alarming rise in diabetes globally over the past thirty years, World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for urgent action.
Tedros explained that the situation reflects the increase in obesity, compounded by the impacts of the marketing of unhealthy food, a lack of physical activity and economic hardship.
“To bring the global diabetes epidemic under control, countries must urgently take action. This starts with enacting policies that support healthy diets and physical activity, and, most importantly, health systems that provide prevention, early detection and treatment,” the WHO Director-General stated.
According to new data released in the world-leading medical journal, The Lancet, the number of adults living with diabetes worldwide has surpassed 800 million, more than quadrupling since 1990.
The study reports that global diabetes prevalence in adults rose from 7% to 14% between 1990 and 2022.
Low and middle-income countries experienced the most significant increases.
In those countries, diabetes rates have soared while treatment access remains persistently low.
The data revealed that in 2022, almost 450 million adults aged 30 and older – about 59% of all adults with diabetes – remained untreated, marking a 3.5-fold increase in untreated people since 1990.
Ninety percent of the untreated adults are living in low and middle-income countries.
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The study shows that in the Americas, 112 million adults (13% of the adult population) are living with diabetes -almost four times the number of adults with diabetes in 1990.
In the Caribbean, the prevalence is even higher, reaching 20% of the adult population.
Last week, the WHO announced the launch of a new global monitoring system.
The organisation said it would provide comprehensive guidance to countries in measuring and evaluating diabetes prevention, care, outcomes, and impacts.
WHO explained that countries can improve targeted interventions and policy initiatives by tracking key indicators such as glycaemic control, hypertension, and access to essential medicines.
