U.N. News: Diabetes increasing COVID risks, showing need to strengthen health systems
“As the number of people with diabetes surges, many are at ‘increased risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19,’ the U.N. chief said in his message for World Diabetes Day, on Saturday. ‘Many efforts have been made to prevent and treat diabetes,’ but the disease continues to rise rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, those ‘least well-equipped with the diagnostics, medicines, and knowledge to provide life-saving treatment,’ said Secretary-General António Guterres. … Next year, WHO is launching the Global Diabetes Compact, ‘a new initiative that will bring structure and coherence to our complementary efforts to reduce the burden of diabetes,’ informed Mr. Guterres…” (11/13).

Additional coverage of the global diabetes epidemic and the pandemic’s impact on diabetes care in Cameroon is available from Healio and VOA News.