AFRICA/CAMEROON - Greater commitment to fighting diabetes, which could cause 24 million deaths in sub-Sahara African by 2030

Yaounde (Agenzia Fides) – A recent study - “Diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa” - led by the University of Yaoundé and published in British medical journal The Lancet, said inadequate national prevention programmes and a lack of donor attention were "creating a pubilc health and socioeconomic time bomb." The International Diabetes Federation, based in Brussels, says that diabetes cases in sub-Saharan Africa will double by 2030, affecting 24 million people. In the 34 poorest African countries, the cost of insulin for one person is more than double the average income. In 2010, an estimated six per cent of deaths in Africa will be caused by diabetes, a three-fold increase in the last 10 years. Diabetes had been misunderstood as a rich country problem, despite medical data compiled by IDF showing that 70 percent of cases were reported in low- and middle-income countries. Most people in Africa who have diabetes are undiagnosed. Diabetes is caused by inherited genetic factors and lifestyle choices, and manifests when the body does not produce enough insulin, or cannot break down sugar in the blood. The disease usually requires long-term treatment and can lead to costly and serious health complications, including heart failure. The authors call for diabetes treatment to be funded in the same way as HIV/AIDS drugs are, along with "support for delivery mechanisms and chronic disease education and care models". Also needed are "socio-culturally appropriate health promotion campaigns" to address health beliefs in African, especially in the rural areas. According to UNAIDS, 6 percent of patients infected with HIV died in 2008 - roughly the same percentage of global patient deaths IDF estimates will be caused by diabetes in 2010. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 07/07/2010)