The situation in Afghanistan related to diabetes and other chronic diseases is bleak. Current estimates state that 1 million Afghans have diabetes. But diabetes prevalence in the general population is estimated at 5-9%. With a population of over 30 million people, an additional 1-2 million undiagnosed cases of diabetes very likely exist in Afghanistan today.Additionally, Afghanistan has an ageing and rapidly urbanising population, a national diet that is largely carbohydrate based and rapidly becoming more processed and western, and an increasingly obese and inactive population. All of these are risk factors for developing diabetes. ObjectivesTo improve awareness and access, raise knowledge and skills of healthcare providers, implement strong advocacy for national diabetic programmes, and establish a Centre of Excellence for Diabetes in Afghanistan. A public awareness campaign targeting 33 of the 34 Afghan provinces, potentially reaching 20,000,000 Afghans, is planned.
300,000 people to be provided increased awareness about diabetes52 trainers trained through e-learning630 HCPs from 30 hospitals and 110 clinics trained through seminars63,000 patients gain access to improved diabetes care at 30 hospitals and 110 clinics4,800 people screened for diabetes and received health education, including collection of clinical data6,000 students reached through education programme at six schools100 governmental decision makers and stakeholder representatives engaged in addressing diabetesEstimated 20 million Afghans potentially reached through awareness campaign (total population of Afghanistan is approx. 32 million)