International Diabetes Federation president calls for focus

Mon, 11 May 2009
The president of the international diabetes federation, Professor Martin Silink, has called for governments all over the world to recognise how serious diabetes and other chronic diseases really are, and act to reduce the threat.

At an international conference held in Doha, Qatar, Silink called for governments to measure the impact of diseases, including diabetes, on global health . Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases reportedly account for some 60 per cent of deaths worldwide.

Silink was reported as commenting: "The global epidemic of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases is hitting the poorest hardest. Four in five deaths from NCDs now occur in low and middle-income countries. The low-cost solutions to prevent many of these deaths are yet to be implemented. Without decisive action, the NCD burden threatens to undermine the benefits of improving standards of living, education and economic growth in many countries. The global diabetes community is waiting for UN Member States to follow through on the promise of the UN Resolution on diabetes ."

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