While this isn’t conventional type 1 news, a very worrisome article I came across today talks about “Type 3? diabetes, which is very much like type 1 and is affecting many people across Africa, particularly in very poor countries like Uganda, Niger and DR Congo.
The article from New Vision shares that Type 3 destroys pancreatic cells and inhibits the body from producing insulin. What makes it different is that it results from other major problems in the region, such as HIV and cancer : http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/30267-malnutrition-diabetes-worries-experts-world-diabetes-day-supplement.html
According to the statistics, the number of diabetics in Uganda rose from 80,000 in 2000 to 1.5 million in 2009. That is a mind-boggling number no matter how you look at it. And with the UN Report released earlier this fall which confirmed that the cases for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are rising everywhere, it is certainly no exaggeration to say that diabetes is currently one of the biggest health problems the world is facing.
This post isn’t intended to scare folks, but sometimes when we are focused on our daily routine we don’t think much about what is going on elsewhere. Diabetes keeps spreading, and as important as it is to do our best to get medication to all these people, we should also make sure we get back on the right track towards a cure and not allow the diabetes industry to keep growing indefinitely either.
To go back to the theme of Thanksgiving – especially looking at how much worse some other people have it, we should be thankful both for what we have, and for the opportunity presented before us to change things. Many people do not have a say at all – we should be ready to speak up for them and let the foundations know how desperately we need that cure. America is a country that still influences and can change the world – so let’s get on it.
– Stoyan
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