The number of adults living with diabetes
worldwide has surpassed 800 million, more than quadrupling since 1990,
according to new data
released in The Lancet on World Diabetes Day. The analysis,
conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) with support from the
World Health Organization (WHO), highlights the scale of the diabetes epidemic
and an urgent need for stronger global action to address both rising disease
rates and widening treatment gaps, particularly in low- and middle-income
countries (LMICs).
“We have seen an alarming rise in diabetes
over the past three decades, which reflects the increase in obesity, compounded
by the impacts of the marketing of unhealthy food, a lack of physical activity
and economic hardship," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus. “To bring the global diabetes epidemic under control, countries
must urgently take action. This starts with enacting policies that support
healthy diets and physical activity, and, most importantly, health systems that
provide prevention, early detection and treatment.”
The study reports that global diabetes
prevalence in adults rose from 7% to 14% between 1990 and 2022. LMICs
experienced the largest increases, where diabetes rates have soared while
treatment access remains persistently low. This trend has led to stark global
inequalities: in 2022, almost 450 million adults aged 30 and older – about 59%
of all adults with diabetes – remained untreated, marking a 3.5-fold increase
in untreated people since 1990. Ninety per cent of these untreated adults are
living in LMICs.
The study further reveals substantial
global differences in diabetes rates, with the prevalence of diabetes among
adults aged 18 and older around 20% in the WHO South-East Asia and the Eastern
Mediterranean Regions. These two regions, together with the African Region,
have the lowest rates of diabetes treatment coverage, with fewer than 4 in 10
adults with diabetes taking glucose-lowering medication for their diabetes.
WHO’s commitment to global diabetes
response
Addressing the soaring diabetes burden,
WHO is also launching a new global
monitoring framework on diabetes today. This product
represents a crucial step in the global response, providing comprehensive
guidance to countries in measuring and evaluating diabetes prevention, care,
outcomes and impacts. By tracking key indicators such as glycaemic control,
hypertension and access to essential medicines, countries can improve targeted
interventions and policy initiatives. This standardized approach empowers
countries to prioritize resources effectively, driving significant improvements
in diabetes prevention and care.
WHO’s Global
Diabetes Compact, launched in 2021, includes the vision of reducing
the risk of diabetes, and ensuring that all people who are diagnosed with
diabetes have access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable and quality
treatment and care. The work undertaken as part of the Compact will also
support the prevention of type 2 diabetes from obesity, unhealthy diet and
physical inactivity. In addition, the same year, a diabetes resolution was
endorsed at the World Health Assembly urging Member States to raise the
priority given to the prevention, diagnosis and control of diabetes as well as
prevention and management of risk factors such as obesity.
In 2022, WHO established five global
diabetes coverage targets to be achieved by 2030. One of these targets is to
ensure that 80% of people with diagnosed diabetes achieve good glycemic
control. Today’s release underlines the scale and urgency of action needed to
advance efforts to close the gap.
The upcoming year 2025 presents a
significant opportunity to catalyse action against the alarming rise in
diabetes worldwide with the Fourth High-level Meeting of the United Nations
General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases
(NCDs) to take place in September. This meeting brings heads of states and
governments together to set a powerful vision for preventing and controlling
NCDs, including diabetes, through a collective commitment to address root
causes and improve access to detection and treatment. By aligning efforts
towards the 2030 and 2050 goals, this high-level meeting is a pivotal moment
for strengthening global health systems, including primary health care and
halting the rise in the diabetes epidemic.
Source: WHO Website