The International Diabetes Federation has released figures which show that the number of people living with the disease is expected to rise from 366 million this year to 552 million by 2030, if no urgent action is taken.
The report says that this equates to three new cases every ten seconds or almost ten million per year. IDF also estimates that as many as 183 million people are unaware that they have diabetes.
The analysis goes on to note that in some of the poorest regions in the world such as Africa, “where infectious diseases have traditionally been the focus of health care systems,” diabetes cases are expected to increase by 90% by 2030. At least 78% of people in Africa are undiagnosed and do not know they are living with diabetes.
Jean Claude Mbanya, IDF’s president, said that “in every country and in every community worldwide, we are losing the battle against this cruel and deadly disease”. He added that “we demand that public and world leaders act on diabetes now”.
