Africa: Diabetes could affect 55 million people in Africa by 2045

Daily Monitor Device measuring blood glucose levels.

The results that were released at a WHO virtual press conference on 11 November ahead of World Diabetes Day on 14 November show that the mortality rate from COVID-19 in Africa is 10.2% among diabetics compared to only 2.5% for all patients.

"Of all indications, COVID-19 is giving a clear message. The fight against the diabetes epidemic in Africa is in many ways as crucial as the fight against the current pandemic," says Benido Impouma, Director of Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases at the WHO Regional Office for Africa. He adds that people with diabetes around the world have been prioritized for care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Africa has struggled to implement this strategy.

Benido Impouma says access to diabetes care has been severely disrupted in the WHO African Region, adding that restrictions implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19 have hampered access to health care and basic management of the disease, including routine blood sugar control and healthy eating.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine is a lifeline for people with other diseases such as diabetes, access to vaccines remains poor in Africa.

Vaccination

Nine months into COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Africa, only 6.6% of Africa's population is fully vaccinated, compared to about 40% globally.

"We are still far from where we need to be to protect the most vulnerable among us," he explains.

"There is an urgent need to scale up vaccination and other key services for people at high risk, including those with diabetes. We can also prevent diabetes from claiming more lives by promoting a healthy and affordable diet and regular physical activity."

Greg Tracz, Managing Director of Diabetes Africa, told SciDev.Net: "We can reduce the impact of COVID-19 in Africa if we start by preventing and treating diabetes. Innovations exist, [and] champions exist across the continent. We need to share information and communicate better." Eva Njenga, President of the Kenya Diabetes Management and Information Centre, said more than 40% of those who have died from COVID-19 suffer from other diseases, including diabetes in Kenya; which has led the government to prioritize COVID-19 vaccination to these people.

Maïmouna Ndour Mbaye, director of the Marc Sankalé National Center for diabetes in Senegal, points out that a significant number of Africans with diabetes can no longer control their condition due to the high cost of drugs and monitoring devices.

She urges African leaders to subsidize medicines to control diabetes; adding that the government of Senegal has subsidized insulin to allow more people to access life-saving medicines.