Uganda’s Ministry of Health (MOH), with support from World Health Organization (WHO), has convened a meeting to raise awareness and commitment on implementing sustainable priority interventions to prevent and control diabetes. The spotlight meeting was under the theme, Multi-Stakeholder Action for Achieving Global Targets for Diabetes.

The global age-standardized prevalence of diabetes doubled from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2021 among the adult population (18 years and older). In 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths worldwide, 48% of which occurred prematurely, before the age of 70 years. In Africa, there were 24 million people living with diabetes in 2021. This is projected to increase to 55 million by 2045, an increase of 129%, the highest increase of all regions.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and non-traumatic lower limb amputation in Uganda. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, in 2021, an estimated 716,000 adults in Uganda had diabetes. About 89% of Ugandans with diabetes are neither on medication nor aware of their status and therefore present to the health system with difficult to treat complications.

“In recognition of the increasing burden of diabetes and other NCDs as a major socio-economic challenge, Government of Uganda is scaling up critical care pathways for managing chronic diseases including diabetes up to primary health care level,” said Hon. Margaret Muhanga, the Minister of State for Primary Health Care.

In May 2022, WHO member states set global targets for diabetes, as part of recommendations to strengthen and monitor responses within national NCD programs. To help achieve these global targets for diabetes, WHO and the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) agreed to implement a joint integrated project on diabetes prevention and control in Ghana and Uganda. The spotlight meeting was one of the preliminary activities of the joint integrated project.

The meeting was attended by over 100 participants including Members of Parliament, MOH and other MDA Officials, District Local Government Officials from Kabale, Lira, Koboko and Sembabule, special agencies experts on diabetes, representatives of people living with diabetes, development partners, UN Agencies and civil society organizations.

WHO is supporting the fight against diabetes by developing evidence-based policy options, strategies and guidelines aimed to reduce exposure to risk factors and management of diabetes and other NCDs. These include the Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs (2013-2030) and technical packages such as the WHO package of essential Noncommunicable diseases interventions for primary Healthcare in Low resource settings (WHO-PEN).

To accelerate progress in achieving national targets and global commitments for diabetes and other NCDs, WHO developed the Global Diabetes Compact, with a vision of reducing the negative impacts and ensuring that everyone living with diabetes has access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable, quality treatment and care especially at Primary Health Care.

“I call upon our partners, to work together to support the government of Uganda in implementing prevention and control of diabetes and other NCDs. Priority should be put on investing in essential medicines and technologies to enable access by all people living with diabetes irrespective of economic situation,” said Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, WHO Representative in Uganda.

Ms. Rachael Kisakye, who has lived with diabetes for the past 23 years, called for Government to restore hope by providing logistics, medicines, and support to manage the disease.

Hon. Dr. Charles Ayume, chairperson of the health committee in the Parliament of Uganda, pledged to ensure that NCDs and diabetes get adequate attention in terms of budget appropriation and legislative oversight.

Uganda is one of the African countries that were selected by WHO to pilot implementation of the Diabetes Compact based on national priorities for prevention and control diabetes, as part of the national NCD response for Sustainable Development Goals.