WHO Support for Soda Taxes
The World Health Organisation has published a global list of countries in its WHO Manual that have introduced taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, and is calling on all countries to tax sugar drinks in order to save lives. Eighty-five countries are listed as having some form of sugar taxation in the WHO Manual, with several countries […]
PDGN News: Welcome Thapi
PDGN welcomes Thapi Semenya as our Digital Lead. Thapi is from and based in South Africa, and has been living with diabetes for 17 years. She is passionate about advocacy. Over the years she had built up an audience on social media platforms that she uses to educate about her multiple chronic conditions namely Diabetes, […]
South Africa Hosts Nutrition Congress
For the first time since the Covid pandemic disruptions, nutrition and dietetic health professionals from Africa and further afield gathered in person for the 2023 Nutrition Congress. Held in West Somerset, Western Cape, the 3-day event was co-hosted by NSSA (Nutrition Society of South Africa) and ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa). At the […]
Delays to SA Food Warning Labels
New draft legislation for warning labels on food is awaiting Parliamentary action in South Africa. Packaged food can be high in sugar, salt and saturated fat – all of which have been directly linked to life-threatening conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Better labelling has been shown to increase the amount of […]
News from Around the World: South Africa’s Obesity Costs Typical Across Africa
Obesity-related conditions and their complications across the continent of Africa may add up to nearly 10 percent of all health expenditure. The costs of obesity and associated conditions add hugely to healthcare costs and productivity losses. In turn this adds a large burden on individuals, their families and on governments. Research funded through the University […]
Nutrition News: Call For Mandatory Labelling of Foods
The linking of poor nutrition to chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases is well documented. According to Siphiwe Dlamini, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, writing in ‘The Conversation’, these diseases are likely to become increasingly prevalent in developing countries like South Africa due to rapid and often […]
News In Brief: Access to Tech
A campaign to increase access to new technology for people with insulin dependent diabetes is gaining momentum in South Africa. The South African Diabetes Advocacy, an alliance of all the organisations for people with diabetes in the country, will lodge an appeal this week with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to make flash glucose […]
Evidence of a Successful Sugar Tax
With more than a quarter of its citizens living with obesity, South Africans are among the top 20 percent of the most obese nations in the world. Around one in eight South African adults – more than 4.5 million people – have diabetes. It was these statistics that persuaded the Parliament of South Africa in 2018 to […]
High Burden of Undiagnosed or Poorly Controlled NCDs
A comprehensive health-screening program in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has found a high burden of undiagnosed or poorly controlled non-communicable diseases, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Researchers found that four out of five women over the age of 30 were living with a chronic health condition, and that the […]
Nutrition News
Healthy Food Beyond the Purse of South African Families Healthy food is too expensive for many South African families increasing the risks of poor health from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic respiratory diseases and obesity. These account for over half (51 percent) of all death in South […]
COVID-19 and Diabetes
Almost half South African hospitalised COVID -19 patients have diabetes A YEAR of research at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, has determined that people living with diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes, are at risk for more severe Covid-19 complications and have a greater chance of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) […]
News in Brief
Japanese firm predicting 7 per cent increase among people with diabetes requiring a Kidney transplant. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Health-Care/Japan-s-Nipro-pumps-1bn-into-doubling-output-of-artificial-kidneys Patient criticism in Nigeria over high cost of treatment and lack of government policies. https://punchng.com/diabetes-patients-lament-lack-of-govt-policy-high-cost-of-treatment How some young type 1 South Africans successfully campaigned for a health insurer to offer a continuous glucose monitor benefit. A great advocacy example. […]
Sugar Tax News: Double Call in South Africa
The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), an NGO, has called on the South African Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, to double the country’s health promotion levy. South Africa introduced the health promotion levy – commonly known as the sugar tax – in 2018. It currently adds about 11 percent to the cost of sugary beverages to help […]
South Africa: Diabetes Behind South Africans Increasing Risk of Vision Loss
Loss of vision due to diabetic eye complications and age-related visual conditions is on the rise in South Africa. Diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that damages the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye, is the leading cause of vision loss globally. The number of people with diabetics in South […]
Focus on Africa
The theme of this year’s World Diabetes Day was ‘The Family and Diabetes’ and organisations collaborated across the continent to mark the occasion and promote prevention, diagnosis and treatments. Here are just a few brief examples. A three day conference at the Ibn Tofeil University in Kenitra city, Morocco, was held. PDGN Vice-President Senator Mostafa […]
SUGAR TAXES?
Do sugar taxes change the behaviour of consumers? There is evidence on both sides but one development that is welcomed is how the taxes change the amount of sugar manufacturers add to their products, even those who market zero sugar alternatives. The UK is the latest country to introduce a sugar tax following a long […]