The cases of type 2 diabetes continue to soar in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, where around one in every ten adults live with diabetes, according to recent data.

The International Diabetes Federation’s new data on the global burden of diabetes said the number of cases is expected to increase more than 80 per cent from 36.8 million people currently to 67.9 million in 2035, making it one of the world’s fastest growing regions for diabetes.

The healthcare budget in the region will reflect the added disease burden in years to come and total health expenditure is set to rise from $16.8 billion to $24.7 billion in 2035, it said.

The number of people who suffer from diabetes worldwide is 387 million and this number is expected to reach 592 million by 2035.
 
The global health expenditure reached $612 billion this year, which is a rise of 63 per cent since 2010.  

Professor El-Sayed, regional chair, Mena region, IDF, said: ‘We are seeing an increase in diabetes prevalence and mortality year-on-year. However, we now have simple, cost-effective ways to tackle this increase. Investing in healthy nutrition and increasing the accessibility of healthy food choices will reduce the global burden of diabetes, and save billions in lost productivity and healthcare costs.

Diabetes is one of today’s most pressing healthcare challenges, driven mainly by urbanisation, ageing populations and unhealthy lifestyles. Obesity is one of the main risk factors for developing the disease.

However, up to 70 per cent of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or delayed by adopting healthier lifestyles, equivalent to up to 150 million diabetes cases by 2035.
 
Mike Doustdar, senior vice present, International Operations, Novo Nordic, said: ‘Diabetes is a major challenge to healthcare systems as well as to people’s quality of life. We need to discuss concrete solutions for how to tackle diabetes in the Middle East, how to better prevent the disease as well as ensuring the best treatment. Healthcare sectors, governments and the industry need to work together to make this happen.”
 
Seven of the top 20 countries when it comes to diabetes prevalence are from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region with the Gulf states leading the unfortunate statistics.

Saudi Arabia takes the top spot in the region in terms of diabetes prevalence with almost 24 per cent of its population living with the disease, followed by Kuwait with 23.1 per cent, Bahrain with 21.9 per cent, Qatar with 19.8 per cent and UAE with 19 per cent. - TradeArabia News Service