View The Mauritius Call For Action

• The speech of Dr. Luis G. Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa of the World Health Organization at the African Conference on Diabetes and Associated Diseases
• Conference Journal – Diabetes and Associated Diseases
  • Journal 1 [English][Français] [Português]
  • Journal 2 [English][Français] [Português]
  • Journal 3 [English][Français] [Português]
  • Journal 4 [English]

Press Realeses

• Mauritius Call for Action adopted [English][Français] [Português]
• The Challenge of Diabetes by 2030 [English][Français]
• The International Conference on Diabetes opens with urgent calls for action [English][Français] [Português]
  
  

  ---

The increasing burden of major Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) which are cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory conditions and their known risk factors including unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and tobacco use, particularly in the WHO African region, threatens to overwhelm already over-stretched health services.

It is estimated that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes. It is projected that this number would double by 2030. In 2005, an estimated 1.1 million people died from diabetes and nearly 80% of diabetes deaths occurred in low and middle income countries.  Diabetes deaths are projected to increase by over 80% in upper-middle income countries between 2006 and 2015.

In the wake of a shift in the pattern of diseases within a time span of two decades, diabetes has rapidly emerged as one of the most important public health priorities in Mauritius. The prevalence of diabetes in Mauritius ranks among the highest in the world with nearly one in five of its adult population above the age of 30 years being affected. Furthermore nearly half of those affected do not know that they have the disease and this adversely influences quality of life, risks of complications as well as morbidity and mortality. Despite the availability of free health services, over 50% of diabetes patients are poorly controlled and the risk of complications from diabetes such as cardiovascular diseases, renal failure, blindness, peripheral vascular and neurological diseases leading to lower limb amputations, remain very high.
 
This meeting will coincide with World Diabetes Day 2009 and will bring together leading experts in the field of diabetes and public health to discuss the current issues, latest developments and practical management of diabetes and its complications and take stock of the latest scientific evidence based best practices to address the epidemic of diabetes and related complications

The General objective of this conference is to contribute to intensifying and accelerating effective prevention and management of diabetes as an example for the control of NCDs in the WHO African region.

The Specific objectives are:

1. Discuss the current issues, latest developments and practical management of diabetes and its complications.
2. Identify strategic orientations for scaling up essential interventions to achieve optimal control of Diabetes Mellitus and associated diseases in line with the Primary Health care approach.
3. Renew the commitment of all countries in the region to implement the diabetes prevention and control strategy for the WHO African region.
4. Build strategic alliances and regional partnerships for strengthening the prevention of Diabetes Mellitus and associated diseases.

It is in this context that WHO jointly with the Government of Mauritius are organizing an international conference on diabetes and associated diseases that will help improve our understanding of diabetes and associated diseases in Africa.

- Please visit the conference website for more information.

Home | Health Topics | Contact WHO/AFRO | WHO Headquarters | Search | Site Map | DNC Home