The past blog entries of this month have been about the exciting new technologies available to diabetics in order to make life easier. But what about the juvenile diabetics who do not live in the United States, or those who cannot afford such life-changing technology?
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is an alliance of diabetes associations whose goal is “to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide.” To do this, within the past fifty years, IDF has created task forces, educational programs, diabetes care guidelines, annual conferences, and contacts with the World Health Organization to make sure diabetes is handled properly and taken care of.
According to the IDF, by 2025 the highest prevalence rates of diabetes will be found in developing countries. Currently, about 246 million people live with diabetes worldwide. If this prevalence estimate proves true, the world will not be able to afford diabetes care by 2025.
With most of the developing world living on less than two dollars (USD) per day, paying for diabetes care will be out of the question. Without subsidized care from the government or private health insurance, families bear the weight of diabetes cost care on their own. Obviously, this makes proper care impossible for families to handle on their own.
So, what can be done about this travesty? People are dying for the simple reason of affordability of diabetes care. Free medical clinics, drug samples and luck can only work for so long. Make sure to check out the next blog entry to see what you can do to help prevent diabetes around the world. If you would more information about diabetes on the global scale, check out www.idf.org.