The Chairperson of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Africa Region, Dr. Mrs. Elizabeth Esi Denyoh, has raised concerns over the growing burden of diabetes in Ghana, warning that nearly four out of every five people living with the condition remain undiagnosed.
She has called for urgent national action to strengthen diabetes screening, improve access to affordable treatment and intensify public education to prevent avoidable deaths and complications.
Speaking at the launch of World Diabetes Day 2026 in Ghana, under the theme “Early Action on Diabetes,” Dr. Denyoh said an estimated 317,400 Ghanaian adults aged between 20 and 79 were living with diabetes.
According to statistics from the International Diabetes Federation’s 11th Edition Diabetes Atlas, approximately 78.7 per cent of people living with diabetes in Ghana are unaware of their condition, representing about 250,000 undiagnosed adults.
She warned that the situation could worsen significantly if urgent interventions were not implemented, with the number of adults living with diabetes in Ghana projected to exceed 800,000 by 2050.
Dr. Denyoh said early detection remained critical to preventing serious complications, including stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness and amputations, which often result from delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment.
She noted that diabetes was no longer a condition affecting only wealthy or elderly people but was increasingly becoming a public health concern across different sections of Ghanaian society, including young people.
On the African continent, she said, an estimated 24.6 million adults were living with diabetes in 2024, with the figure projected to rise to 59.5 million by 2050.
More concerning, she said, was that approximately 72.6 per cent of adults with diabetes in the IDF Africa Region remained undiagnosed, the highest proportion among all IDF regions.
She stressed that the fight against diabetes could not succeed without effective collaboration between government, civil society, healthcare professionals, development partners and communities.
She therefore urged policymakers to invest in diabetes screening and treatment at the primary healthcare level and ensure the availability of affordable essential medicines, including insulin and oral anti-diabetic drugs.
Dr. Denyoh also called for stronger regulation of unhealthy food marketing, particularly advertisements targeting children, and the integration of non-communicable disease services into the National Health Insurance Scheme.
She said Ghana must align its national diabetes response with the World Health Organisation’s global target of ensuring that 80 per cent of people living with diabetes are diagnosed by 2030.
On healthcare delivery, she appealed to government to provide incentives to health professionals to encourage them to remain in the country and contribute to strengthening the health system.
She further urged healthcare workers to use every opportunity, including outpatient consultations and antenatal visits, to screen patients, identify risk factors and link suspected cases to appropriate care.
She encouraged the public to embrace locally available nutritious foods, including whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruits, while undertaking at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
She also called on employers, churches, mosques, traditional authorities and community leaders to organise regular health screening exercises, promote healthy lifestyles and help eliminate stigma and misconceptions surrounding diabetes.
She specifically urged stakeholders to incorporate fruits into school feeding programmes as part of efforts to encourage healthier eating habits among children.
Addressing the media, Dr. Denyoh described journalists as important partners in the fight against diabetes, urging them to intensify public education, announce screening exercises and correct misconceptions about the disease.
She cautioned against beliefs that diabetes was caused by witchcraft and the misconception that insulin was only meant for people with severe cases.
She explained that insulin remained essential for people living with Type 1 diabetes and that timely treatment and continuous medical care could help patients live long and productive lives.
Dr. Denyoh called for a collective national commitment to ensure that Ghanaians discovered their diabetes status through routine screening rather than after developing life-threatening complications.
She subsequently declared World Diabetes Day 2026 officially launched in Ghana under the theme: “Early Action on Diabetes – Know Your Risk, Know Your Numbers, Act Now.”
