Diabetes among the Africa poor on the rise

A warning has been issued about the high level of diabetes in African, especially the amount of cases that remain undetected in the continent. With the prevalence of the disease now standing at an estimated 7.7 per cent in African, the South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has underlined the danger that most cases are still going undetected.
Addressing the Diabetes Leadership Forum Africa 2010, Motsoaledi said “If critical changes are not introduced soon, Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) will increase by a further 19 per cent in developing countries by 2015. The greatest increases will be in Africa where it is anticipated NCDs will rise by 24 per cent.”
With NCDs now making up 59 per cent of global deaths and 46 per cent of diseases, figures show that as much as 80 per cent of these occur in low- and middle-income countries. It has also been reported that Africans aged between 30 and 59 that live in and low- and middle-income countries die from NCDs at twice the rate of people in high-income countries. The main reasons for this young age bracket seem to lie in diet and the quality of healthcare .
Motsoaledi added “In low and middle income countries eight million people die prematurely annually from preventable causes. Currently more than 70 per cent of people with diabetes live in low and middle income countries.”