As World Diabetes Day is marked across the globe on Saturday, health leaders in South Africa have urged citizens to take early action to detect the chronic medical disease.

At an event in Thembisa near Johannesburg on Friday, people had themselves checked for the metabolic condition, high blood pressure, and other related illnesses.

And received information on prevention and management.

A local resident who attended the event, Mavis Mahlangu, said it was very important for people to look after themselves.

"So that you can be safe. Diabetes has taken a lot of lives because of the ignorance, so to the people at home, it’s important to know sugar levels, blood pressure, and diabetes state," she said.

The statistics are clear. Type 2 diabetes affects about 10 per cent of the adult population, one in every nine adults.

In 2024, it accounted for more than 6 per cent of all recorded natural deaths taking the top spot as number one killer from HIV.

"It's not that we are the highest in the world. Especially because among black people these diseases are new ... but it has overtaken HIV and AIDS as number one,” said health minister Aaron Motsoaledi at the event.

It is estimated that up to two-thirds of South Africans with diabetes remain undiagnosed.

Doctors say the surge in the disease cannot be blamed on lifestyle choices alone and there is a need for more awareness of contributing factors.

Other contributing factors include increasing obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, and high consumption of sugary drinks and processed foods.

For Dr Patrick Ngassa Piotie, chairperson of the Diabetes Alliance, the cornerstone of diabetes management is educating people living with the disease.

"But because of the gaps in the health system, there's almost no education that is delivered to people,” he said.

“As a result, they are disempowered and are not able to play the role that they should play when it comes to the management of their care.”

The Alliance is urging government to “go back to the basics” and empower people with diabetes with the right information and ensure that medications are available.

The South African Medical Association said there is also a needs to strengthen the management of chronic diseases at the primary healthcare level.

World Diabetes Day: South African health leaders urge early action to detect the disease

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