This year, for the first time, the focus of the WHO World Health Day will be diabetes. The theme - ‘Beat diabetes’ – reflects the spiralling prevalence of diabetes and diabetes-related mortality worldwide. In 1998, the WHO predicted that the global prevalence of diabetes would be 299 million by 2025. In 2015, prevalence rates had already surpassed that estimate by more than 100 million. Rates continue to rise such that the International Diabetes Federation predicts that 642 million people will have diabetes by 2040, accounting for one in every 10 adults.
More importantly, diabetes accounts for 1.5 million deaths each year. By 2030, diabetes is expected to become the 7th most common cause of death. In addition to the human cost of the condition, there is the very real issue of associated health care costs. Diabetes accounts for 12 per cent of global health expenditure, and this figure…
