The number of people suffering from diabetes is surging, even as tens of millions cannot get the insulin they need, the World Health Organization has revealed.
The UN health agency stressed the need to cut prices and dramatically increase access to the life-saving medicine.
More than 420 million people are currently estimated to be living with diabetes globally, numbers that have nearly quadrupled in the past four decades.
Half a Billion People
The WHO announced that numbers of people with diabetes are expected to surge past half a billion by the end of this decade. They noted that despite an ample supply, high prices make it difficult for many people with diabetes to access the insulin they need to manage their condition.
Diabetes is divided into two types. An estimated nine million people have type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin — the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, while most people living with diabetes have type 2, which is associated with obesity and other lifestyle factors and emerges in adults and increasingly among children.
Advocacy Action: What is happening in your country? Are there plans in place to curb the rise? What about access to insulin and medicines, are prices a factor, or distribution? Could you call for answers, or arrange for evidence?
TAGS: Insulin, Type 1, Type 2, UN Health Agency (UNHA), Obesity
Interim President Appointed
PDGN’s second elected President, Guy Barnett MP, indicated some time ago that he needed to step down to concentrate on his ministerial responsibilities in the Tasmanian Parliament. Susan Jackson MP, a fourth generation Parliamentarian in Bermuda, and a prominent champion of diabetes has agreed to act as President until an election can be held. Meet Susan on page 13.
This edition of Global Advocacy News has been sponsored by Dexcom.
