The subject of diabetes management and prevention is very close to my heart. After losing my mother to diabetes, I made a vow that I will do everything in my power to increase awareness about diabetes.
I decided to become an activist and engage various communities in South Africa in order to help them recognise the importance of knowing the risks and dangers of unmanaged diabetes.
Furthermore, I took it upon myself to educate people about the warning signs, and associated risk factors of uncontrolled diabetes.
The International Diabetes Forum (IDF) Atlas 8th edition provides the latest figures, and information on the current and future magnitude of the diabetes pandemic. According to this source, there are 425 million adults who have diabetes worldwide.
This means that one in 11 people is diabetic; to make matters worse, the statistics further indicate that one in two people with diabetes remain undiagnosed - which means that there is a total of 212 million people who do not know their status when it comes to diabetes.
My main focus therefore is to champion programmes that are aimed at reducing this number significantly.
Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.
As South Africans become more urbanised, exposure to high-caloric, processed foods has increased, this poses a threat of increasing the rates of diabetes as well.
According to the IDF, the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to 522 million by 2030. What should be done? The government has done an excellent job with regards to resourcing the awareness campaigns about the dangers of HIV/Aids in the population. While this must continue to be supported - we also have to recognise that diabetes has now become the most serious health concern in South Africa.
It is critical that the number of people who are dying as a result of unmanaged diabetes is reduced significantly. This can only be achieved if we continue to work together with the government. Our success depends on strengthening the health system and encouraging partnerships between government institutions and the civil society on matters concerning diabetes.
Sufficient resources must be deployed or made available for organisations that are working hard to ensure that all communities receive the necessary support in dealing with diabetes. These resources must also be made available for introducing the right technologies and a strong health information system that will be accessed by all including the most vulnerable or marginalised communities.
Finally, we need to invest more in research and development to find new ways of preventing and diagnosing diabetes, and new technologies to make the tools we have more effective and affordable.
Ngema-Zuma is a patron and founder of Bongi-Ngema Zuma Foundation