The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in sub-Saharan Africa has increased rapidly over the past decades and is expected to more than double by 2040
A rapid change in demographic status, socio-cultural lifestyle as well as financial transitions have become the drivers for the increase in the number of diabetes mellitus cases in the region. As a result, diabetes and associated complications are increasingly the underlying cause of premature death and disability.
This is the case of Guinea-Bissau, a country characterized by a poorly resourced health system. There is a growing commitment in the country to diabetes care, following the recognition that it is an important public health problem that must be addressed to improve the health of the population.
Optimal diabetes management requires an organized, systematic approach and the involvement of a coordinated team of dedicated healthcare professionals working in an environment where high-quality patient-centred care is a priority. In 2019, AAPDGB contributed to a scientific article published in the journal The Pan African Medical Journal which examines the state of diabetes in Guinea Bissau. The main issues identified include: the lack of specialists, trained doctors, nurses and allied health professionals; insufficient primary health care system resources; no standardized care protocol for the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and proper management of the disease; no validated epidemiological prevalence dataset; and the lack of diabetes awareness in the general population and also among medical personnel. All these issues tend to overlap and are interrelated. Thus, each problem has a detrimental impact on the other problems and ultimately results in the poor quality of diabetes care that is prevalent today in Guinea-Bissau.
More information on the condition of people with diabetes in Guinea-Bissau can be found in our scientific publications.
Source : Jorge César Correia, Adalgisa Lopes et al. Diabetes management in Guinea Bissau: a situational analysis. Panafrican Med. Journal, Aug 2019. http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/content/article/34/10/full
