Death Toll – High

In a review article Mario Azevedo and Sridevi Alla from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Jackson State University, Mississippi, USA, report on the current status of diabetes in sub-saharan Africa. Azevedo and Alla say that the potential severity of diabetes in Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia is so high that its economic impact and death toll could surpass the ravages of HIV and AIDS in the near future. An estimation states that, in most of Africa, more than half of those suffering from diabetes die within a short interval from presentation outside the major conurbations, implying a life expectancy similar to that in Europe or North America before the insulin era.

Int J Diab Dev Ctries 2008;28:101-108.