On World Health Day this year, which fell last week, the focus remained on diabetes and its growing incidence around the world. Currently, there are seven million new diabetes patients diagnosed in Pakistan each year. The country ranks 10th on the world list of nations with the highest diabetes burden. Experts have pointed out that Type 2 diabetes is, disturbingly, being diagnosed in younger and younger people around the world. Much of this has to do with lifestyle and eating patterns and as these trends filter down from the developed world to poorer countries, these nations too see a heavier load of diabetes.
The problem for nations like Pakistan also is the lack of access to basic medical care. This means that many patients may never be diagnosed, especially since there are few symptoms at the early stages of the potentially life-threatening sickness. As we look at the figures that have emerged, we need to take measures to tackle the problem. Awareness is no doubt the first step towards this. But we must also do more to encourage healthier eating patterns in a time when processed food and refined sugars go into almost everything we eat. The risks these pose have not been taken seriously enough by policymakers. They should, however, consider the implications of a large population suffering from diabetes on our health system as well as on families. Adjustments in policymaking would mean more efforts to control what foods people eat, mainly through education and awareness programmes. The US is among those countries where more and more state governments have recognised this is essential to beat back the growing scourge of diabetes and other related diseases. It is time we did the same. We must not allow diabetes to destroy the lives of so many in the country. It is also important we create more centres where people can be diagnosed and treated so that they can move away from quacks and false practitioners who dominate the market. We already have a fragile healthcare system, with too few qualified doctors to cater to the needs of a growing population. The diabetes threat has to be taken seriously; we need to act now and we must do so as swiftly as possible before the peril grows out of proportion.