Health officials have warned that the number of people seeking medical assistance for diabetes in West Africa has shot up in recent years but that programmes for treatment have not expanded accordingly.
An estimated seven million Africans currently have the disease, including 3.3 million West Africans, according to the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO). The International Federation of Diabetics (FID) said the current prevalence of rate of 0.5 to 3 percent across Africa could increase by 95 percent by 2010.
Previously thought to have largely been a disease in developed countries, WHO said that 75 percent of the world’s diabetics will live in developing countries by 2025.
Currently about eight percent of Europeans and North Americans have the disease.
“The problem of over eating [in Africa] is progressing at exponentially,” said Stephane Besancon, director of programs at the French NGO Mali Diabetic Health.
In Senegal, the National Center Against Diabetes said an average of 200 new cases were reported each year in the country in the 1980s. That number has increased more than ten-fold with 2,411 new cases reported last year, according to Dr. Marie Ka Cisse.
Changing demographics
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Diabetes can also be characterised by the body’s inability to effectively use the insulin it produces. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common symptom which over time causes serious damage to the nerves and blood vessels as well as other body systems, according to WHO.
People who are overweight have a higher risk of contracting diabetes. In many African cultures, obesity is a sign of beauty and good health, especially among women.
The disease is generally more prevalent in urban areas. Traditional meals in Africa are being replaced in urban areas by Western food high in fat and sugar, Besancon said.
“There is more eating out, rising consumption of fried foods, brochettes and fritters, which are now consumed more often than proper grain-based meals,” he said.
Cost prohibitive
The Diabetics Federation has called for a new campaign to make Africans more aware of the risk of diabetes and to make medication readily available. The high cost of medicines means that the people with the disease often go untreated.
In Mali, insulin can cost as much as 20 percent of monthly household income, Besancon said. In Burkina Faso, a monthly minimum treatment for diabetics costs 8,000-12,000 CFA (US $16-$24) not including examinations and follow-up health care.
"Countries in the region have limited resources due to a mounting of funds that need to be pumped into fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis," said Kaushik Ramayia, FID’s regional president for Africa.
Almost 80 percent of diabetes deaths occur in low- or middle-income countries, according to WHO.
Poor infrastructure
The cost of treatment is higher than necessary in Africa because most patients don’t get screened for diabetes at an early stage. In Burkina Faso only four medical officers are trained in detecting diabetes and facilities to screen and treat diabetics only exist in Ouagadougou and Bobodioulasso.
In Mali there is only one diabetes specialist and one endocrine-diabetes specialist. In the rest of the country, patients are looked after by generalists.
Ghana has trained national, local and regional doctors to better address diabetes, according to FID. Both Senegal and Ghana have tried to decentralise screening and treatment for diabetes.
Experts also call on the international community to develop clearer strategies to combat diabetes in the way that efforts have been made to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis.
“African health systems are oriented to infectious diseases but not for chronic illnesses,” Besancon said. “So the growth of diabetes destabilises [health] structures.”
Hb/bo/cs/dh
An estimated seven million Africans currently have the disease, including 3.3 million West Africans, according to the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO). The International Federation of Diabetics (FID) said the current prevalence of rate of 0.5 to 3 percent across Africa could increase by 95 percent by 2010.
Previously thought to have largely been a disease in developed countries, WHO said that 75 percent of the world’s diabetics will live in developing countries by 2025.
Currently about eight percent of Europeans and North Americans have the disease.
“The problem of over eating [in Africa] is progressing at exponentially,” said Stephane Besancon, director of programs at the French NGO Mali Diabetic Health.
In Senegal, the National Center Against Diabetes said an average of 200 new cases were reported each year in the country in the 1980s. That number has increased more than ten-fold with 2,411 new cases reported last year, according to Dr. Marie Ka Cisse.
Changing demographics
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Diabetes can also be characterised by the body’s inability to effectively use the insulin it produces. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common symptom which over time causes serious damage to the nerves and blood vessels as well as other body systems, according to WHO.
People who are overweight have a higher risk of contracting diabetes. In many African cultures, obesity is a sign of beauty and good health, especially among women.
The disease is generally more prevalent in urban areas. Traditional meals in Africa are being replaced in urban areas by Western food high in fat and sugar, Besancon said.
“There is more eating out, rising consumption of fried foods, brochettes and fritters, which are now consumed more often than proper grain-based meals,” he said.
Cost prohibitive
The Diabetics Federation has called for a new campaign to make Africans more aware of the risk of diabetes and to make medication readily available. The high cost of medicines means that the people with the disease often go untreated.
In Mali, insulin can cost as much as 20 percent of monthly household income, Besancon said. In Burkina Faso, a monthly minimum treatment for diabetics costs 8,000-12,000 CFA (US $16-$24) not including examinations and follow-up health care.
"Countries in the region have limited resources due to a mounting of funds that need to be pumped into fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis," said Kaushik Ramayia, FID’s regional president for Africa.
Almost 80 percent of diabetes deaths occur in low- or middle-income countries, according to WHO.
Poor infrastructure
The cost of treatment is higher than necessary in Africa because most patients don’t get screened for diabetes at an early stage. In Burkina Faso only four medical officers are trained in detecting diabetes and facilities to screen and treat diabetics only exist in Ouagadougou and Bobodioulasso.
In Mali there is only one diabetes specialist and one endocrine-diabetes specialist. In the rest of the country, patients are looked after by generalists.
Ghana has trained national, local and regional doctors to better address diabetes, according to FID. Both Senegal and Ghana have tried to decentralise screening and treatment for diabetes.
Experts also call on the international community to develop clearer strategies to combat diabetes in the way that efforts have been made to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis.
“African health systems are oriented to infectious diseases but not for chronic illnesses,” Besancon said. “So the growth of diabetes destabilises [health] structures.”
Hb/bo/cs/dh
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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