As the world commemorates World Diabetes Day 2025, St. George’s University (SGU), School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, is drawing attention to a pressing health challenge facing Africa: the continent’s rapidly growing diabetes epidemic and the urgent need to expand access to care, diagnosis, and prevention.
Across Africa, diabetes is silently emerging as one of the most pressing public health threats of the 21st century. The continent has one of the fastest-growing rates of diabetes worldwide, yet also some of the lowest diagnosis and treatment rates. According to the World Health Organization, only 46% of people living with diabetes in the African region know their status. Many individuals live for years without knowing they have the disease until severe complications such as heart disease, kidney failure, or blindness appear. For countless families, the financial and emotional costs are devastating.
The diabetes crisis in Africa is driven by multiple factors, including urbanization, changing diets, sedentary lifestyles, and limited public awareness. Yet, the most alarming issue remains the lack of access to timely care. Across many African nations, screening facilities are scarce, insulin and medications are unaffordable for low-income households, and there are only a few trained healthcare professionals to manage the growing number of patients.
These barriers to care and the unequal distribution of medical resources between rural and urban areas continue to widen the health gap. In rural communities, where healthcare infrastructure is weakest, diabetes often goes undiagnosed until complications become life-threatening.
Empowering the Next Generation of Healthcare Leaders
Education is central to solving the diabetes crisis. SGU’s global medical education model focuses on training doctors and healthcare professionals who thrive in underserved, diverse communities with global health, clinical excellence, and community impact.
One of SGU’s graduates, Dr. Godino Kalungi (MD ’18) from Uganda, exemplifies this mission in action. Reflecting on his journey, he shared how his education at SGU helped turn his vision into reality: ‘‘During my SGU admission interview, I spoke about my long-term vision: to transform healthcare access in my home country, Uganda. That vision hasn’t changed. Today, I lead a healthcare nonprofit called Tuzimbe, which is dedicated to improving access to care in underserved communities. As a surgeon, I see it as my responsibility to reach those who might otherwise never see a specialist or receive timely treatment.”
Dr. Kalungi’s story is just one example of how SGU graduates are shaping the future of healthcare across Africa, addressing critical challenges like diabetes through education, compassion, and action. Tackling diabetes in Africa requires shared responsibility and cross-sector collaboration. Governments, NGOs, and educational institutions must work together to ensure that every individual, regardless of income or location, can access affordable, quality diabetes care. Equally important is raising public awareness, as information on preventing and managing diseases effectively with early detection and healthy lifestyle choices should be prioritized.
By training future doctors who combine medical expertise with cultural awareness and social responsibility, SGU continues to play a vital role in closing healthcare gaps that hinder progress toward equitable diabetes care.
For more information on how SGU School of Medicine can prepare aspiring African doctors, visit SGU’s website.
Author: Oti Egwu.
Lady Katniss
The sole purpose of your middle name is so you know when you are in real trouble with your mother
rummy stickers
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?