Rising diabetes rates are a concern, says deputy health minister

Deputy Health Minister Dr. Joe Phaahla expressed concern over the rapid rise in diabetes cases in South Africa, particularly among women.

Alarming rise in diabetes-related deaths

According to Dr Phaahla, diabetes mellitus is the leading underlying cause of female deaths at 8.2%. In 2018, the figure stood at 7.7%.

“The rate at which diabetes is growing in our country is concerning.”
Deputy Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla

Phaahla addressed the concern around the increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) during a roundtable discussion on the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI).

What are NCDs?

NCDs, also called lifestyle diseases, refer to diseases that are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental, and behavioural factors.

According to The World Health Organization, the main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes.

Changeable behaviours, such as smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol, all increase the risk of NCDs.

Steps taken by government

‘We must recognise the gravity of this burden which is deeply interconnected with factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, alcohol abuse, smoking and social and commercial determinants of health,’ Phaahla told delegates.

According to Phaahla, the Department of Health’s focus is two-fold – prevention and early detection.

In preventing diseases such as diabetes, the Department has implemented campaigns aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles. It has rolled out screening campaigns through community health workers and traditional health practitioners to target the early detection of hypertension and diabetes.

The Department also aims at addressing the major issues of affordability and accessibility to fight the increase in diabetes.

How bad is the situation in South Africa?

The University of Witwatersrand published a report at the end of last year that stated that diabetes is the second leading cause of death in South Africa after tuberculosis.

NCDs cause approximately 70% of deaths globally. Of these deaths, around 85% occur in low and middle-income countries. In South Africa, there was an increase of 58% in deaths from NCDs from 1997 to 2018.

Most South Africans with diabetes are either diagnosed very late or are not diagnosed at all.

Untreated or badly controlled diabetes can result in amputations, kidney failure and blindness. Many of these individuals also have high blood pressure. This often results in a stroke as a result of brain haemorrhage.