“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. 

A gloomy picture 

Globally, some 422 million adults are living with diabetes (latest figures from 2014), according to the World Health Organization (WHO), compared to around 108 million in 1980 – rising from 4.7 to 8.5 per cent in the adult population. 

This reflects an increase in associated risk factors, such as being overweight or obese.  

Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and lower limb amputation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional pain to those requiring regular care and treatment who struggle to access therapies for their condition. 

Hope ahead 

A healthy diet, physical activity and not smoking can prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes, formerly called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, the UN said.  

Moreover, the disease can be treated and its consequences avoided or delayed with medication, regular screening and treatment for complications. 

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. 

“Let us work together to make sure that, through this ambitious and much-needed collaboration, we will soon be talking about the decline in diabetes as a public health problem”.   

Hailing nurses 

The theme for World Diabetes Day 2020 is “The Nurse and Diabetes”, which aims to raise awareness around the crucial role of these health care professionals in supporting people living with diabetes. 

Nurses, who currently account for over half of the global health workforce, also help people living with a wide range of health concerns.  

People living with diabetes face a number of challenges, and education is vital to equip nurses with the skills to support them. 

“As we strive to overcome the pandemic, let us do our utmost to ensure Universal Health Coverage, strengthen health systems and advance good health and resilience for all”, the UN chief said.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was making closing remarks at the closing of WHO’s governing body, the World Health Assembly, which finalized its annual session this week after its regular May meeting was cut short by COVID-19 safety requirements.

Historic vaccine advances

The WHO chief highlighted the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine breakthrough announced this week, which results indicate could be around 90 per cent effective, saying he had “no doubt” that vaccines were a vital tool for controlling the on-going pandemic.

“Never in history has vaccine research progressed so quickly. We must apply the same urgency and innovation to ensuring that all countries benefit from this scientific achievement.

“But we have a long way to go. The world cannot put all its eggs in one basket and neglect the many other tools at our disposal, that countries like Thailand have shown are effective, for bringing this virus under control.”

What works against the virus before inoculation, are isolation, testing and treatment programmes, where the contacts of those infected are traced and then quarantine.

Chronic weakness

The COVID-19 pandemic has “demonstrated the consequences of chronic under-investment in public health”, said Tedros, and the health crisis, “has ignited a socio-economic crisis that has impacted billions of lives and livelihoods and undermined global stability and solidarity. Returning to the status quo is not an option.”

The WHO chief said it wasn’t just more investment that was needed in public health infrastructure, “we must also rethink how we value health.”

New brains trust on health economics

Tedros told the Assembly that that time has now come to think of healthcare as an investment, not a cost, “that is the foundation of productive, resilient and stable economies.”

“To start building that narrative, today I am proud to announce that we are establishing a new Council on the Economics of Health for All, to focus on the links between health and sustainable, inclusive and innovation-led economic growth.”

He said the first virtual session of the Council, which will bring together leading economists and health experts, will likely hold its first virtual session in the coming weeks, to set out its work plan and best way of working.

“The pandemic has also shown that there is an urgent need for a globally agreed system for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples”, he added, “to facilitate the rapid development of medical countermeasures as global public goods.”

Productive session

Among the Assembly’s achievements through the week were a new roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030; a new roadmap for neglected tropical diseases; a resolution on scaled-up action on epilepsy and other neurological disorders; the adoption of the Immunization Agenda 2030; the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a public health problem; and the Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation.

“Each of these represents an urgent health priority that affects the lives of millions of people, and which increases the demands on, and expectations of, WHO”, said Tedros.

To stem the outbreak, the Ministry of Health has formed an emergency task force comprised of the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners, for a quick response and to increase surveillance. 

“No child anywhere should suffer from polio, a completely preventable disease”, said Olushayo Olu, WHO Representative for South Sudan. 

While rare, vaccine-derived poliovirus cases can occur when the weakened live virus in the oral polio vaccine, passes through under-immunized populations. If a population is adequately immunized with polio vaccines, it will be protected from both wild polio and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses. 

Inoculation campaign 

Because immunization is the only way to stop the potentially deadly virus from spreading, South Sudan launched a campaign on Wednesday, aimed at vaccinating 1.5 million children against polio, according to WHO. 

“There is a lot of love in every needle prick, that is how we are protecting the next generation”, said UNICEF South Sudan Representative, Mohamed Ayoya. 

The first round will target children in 45 counties across seven states, including Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap, Lakes and Eastern Equatoria, where the 15 cases were confirmed. 

Follow-up campaigns covering more states and counties are planned, beginning in December.  

Ahead of and during the campaigns, social mobilizers will increase immunization awareness and participation by engaging communities and community leaders. 

“I urge all parents to take their children for polio vaccination including those who have already been vaccinated”, encouraged the country’s Minister of Health, Elizabeth Achue. “It is safe to receive an additional dose and we want to make sure every child is protected”. 

Preventable polio 

WHO pointed out that less than 50 per cent of the children in South Sudan are immunized against polio and other life-threatening diseases, putting them at risk of lifelong disability and death.  

Moreover, widespread displacement and continual population movements compounded with COVID-19 restrictions, have further aggravated the country’s immunization coverage and have exacerbated children’s vulnerability to polio, especially those in hard-to-reach areas. 

“Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and flooding [that is] sweeping much of the country, the campaign provides greater opportunity for vulnerable population to receive critical interventions that could avert life threatening disease such as disability from poliomyelitis”, said Dr. Olu. 

On 25 August, South Sudan along with other African countries was declared polio free because there had not been any outbreaks of wild polio virus in the country for more than ten years.  

Stay vigilant 

To keep every child protected, effective and safe vaccines – along with the commitment of parents, other caregivers and health workers – that led to the virus’ eradication in 47 African countries must continue. 

“Immunization is a must and complacency can kill”, the UNICEF representative underscored. “We must ensure all children in South Sudan are taken for routine immunization, which includes the polio vaccine, so this doesn’t happen again when the outbreak is curbed”.