Lions Club International partners with the UN to combat diabetes

NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Lions Club International on Tuesday announced a partnership with the United Nations to help combat diabetes globally.

Naresh Aggarwal, the President for Lions Club International said the new initiative will help manage the disease that affects a large number of people globally.

"Diabetes must be controlled to enable millions of people to live their lives without worries," Aggarwal told journalists in Nairobi.

He noted that through the partnerships with the UN, the World Health Organization (WHO), pharmaceutical companies, and other agencies, the organization will mobilize resources, and make a difference for the millions of people whose lives are impacted by diabetes.

He announced that the organization has allocated 700 million U.S. dollars towards the initiative globally.

"We are also looking for additional 300 million dollars from organizations and partners to help save lives of many people who are suffering from the disease," he added.

Over the past decade, diabetes prevalence has risen faster in low and middle income countries than in high-income countries, according to medical experts.

The percentage of deaths attributable to diabetes is higher in low and middle income countries than in high-income countries due to little or no access to health care, restricted access to healthy diets, low or no awareness of the causes of diabetes and delayed detection.

According to the WHO, an estimated 422 million adults are living with diabetes today, compared to 108 million in 1980. In Africa, over 25 million people are living with diabetes, and many more that are undiagnosed also exists.

"Diabetes is probably the most preventable disease in the world hence it is a top priority for our organization," Aggarwal added.

Sahle-Work Zewde, the Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON) observed that the partnership will help meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health.

"This is a welcome move towards achieving the SDGs targets that are key to good health and ending poverty and hunger," Zewde said.

She said when diabetes is uncontrolled, it has dire consequences for health and well-being of the people especially in Africa. Enditem