2.7 mln Afghans suffer from diabetes

The Afghan Public Health Ministry said on Sunday that around 2.7 million of Afghanistan's 30-million population have been suffering from diabetes.

"In Afghanistan, diabetes goes largely unnoticed and untreated. It is estimated that in Afghanistan's 8.4 percent of the population, or around 2.7 million Afghans, suffer from diabetes," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) is focusing this year's World Health Day, which falls on April 7, on diabetes.

"If diabetes is not controlled well, it can cause complications including heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, and foot ulcers that can lead to amputations. Many of these complications and premature deaths could be prevented," Deputy Minister of Public Health Ahmad Jan Naeem was quoted in the statement as saying.

"We must step up the fight against diabetes and scale up prevention and treatment. The Ministry of Public Health is working on improving access to essential diagnostic services and diabetes medicines and increasing Afghans' awareness about this disease," he said.

Around 9 percent of adults have diabetes and an estimated 1.5 million deaths are caused by the disease every year globally, according to the statement.

"The WHO projects that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030," it noted.